My adventures with the Dragonborn
by DrWandel
Summary: After a vision from Akatosh, I am supposed to pick up a mystery girl in Riverwood. Little do I know about her past and her destiny, but the times to come are going to provide both adventures and potential for romance. At least for the beginning, the story will partially cover the main quest and the Companions, with some modifications of mine. [Feedback and reviews very welcome!]
1. Chapter 1 - A vision from Akatosh

_[Author's Notes: This is my first published fan fiction story at all. I __have __love__d__ to play TES IV Oblivion and TES V Skyrim __for several years and still do__, and __after browsing and reading many wonderful Skyrim stories, __I could not resist the temptation to try __one of my own__. Reviews are most welcome, __and the story is still being expanded and more chapters are written__. __The story starts with the main quest and the Companions, and the College of Winterhold __gets involved__ later on. Several side quest__s__ and some out of game events are worked in as well._

_T__hank you to Bethesda for creating the great and amazing Elder Scrolls games, __and I acknowledge __and respect __that the game and all characters in there __are owned by__ that company. Only the main characters in my story – Timotheus and T'mara – __and a very small number of others, like M'lissa, __are my own._

_Special recognition to:_

o '_Smartbluecat' on Nexusmods for the SE mod 'Inigo' __(IMHO the second best follower mod ever – my personal favorite is 'Vilja')_

o '_Lupus' on Nexusmods for the SE mod 'Riverside Lodge' (really nicely done, but not big enough if you have many followers and/or adopted children)_

o '_Queen Mist777' __here on ' fanfiction dot net' for allowing me to use her characters Marine and Glacier from her story '__Dovah__T__w__i__ins' __(I recommend to read that story, too) - __the __girls__ first appear in chapter 40 __here in my story_

_o The '__Beyond Skyrim - Cyrodiil Development Team' and their __mod 'Beyond Skyrim: Bruma'. This one is used from chapter 68 on, and it is a really fantastic and superbly done mod._

_In addition, __also thanks to the large modding community for providing many wonderful mods. __I am eagerly waiting for __the completion of __huge fan projects such as 'Beyond Skyrim' and 'Skyblivion'. __I appreciate the attention to detail lots of modders spend on improved textures, weather, ENB, and much more, __and I __do __wish that Bethesda put a higher priority on TES VI._

_W__hat you should and should not expect: A long story about the Dragonborn and her companion, doing the full main quest and more, with some canon and lots of __individual__ dialog, and occasional humor. A romance will be blooming, but the story is rate__d__ 'T' rather th__a__n 'M' for a reason; no hidden cameras in the bedrooms. __I also keep violent language within limits._

_Note: A minor rewrite of the earlier chapters __was done__; __I __added__ some more details and __worked on __diversifying/__improving__ some dialog,__ but __the __plot __is not changed at all__.__]_

**Chapter 1: A vision from Akatosh**

_[16__th__ of Last Seed 4E 201]_

During the night I had another vision from Akatosh. Well, I was not entirely sure it was a vision and not just a dream, but I still recalled all details in full clarity when waking up, which does not normally happen with my dreams – most of the time I just remembered that I had had dreams, but forgot what they had been about. Also, my family had prayed to Akatosh for many generations, in our earlier family home in Kvatch in Cyrodiil and in the chapel dedicated to the 'Dragon God of Time' there, before the city had been destroyed by Mehrunes Dagon՚s forces in the year 3E 433, and later on again after Kvatch had been rebuilt. The Hero of Kvatch and Champion of Cyrodiil, who I had been told was one my ancestors, had resolved the Oblivion Crisis together with Martin Septim more than 200 years ago, guided by Akatosh. Those events had led to the decision to officially start the Fourth Era, with no emperor on the throne of Tamriel, though.

Thus, I really trusted Akatosh, whereas I would be somewhat less familiar and less trusting with other Divines.

The Imperial religion and most important religious order in Tamriel was the 'Pantheon of the Nine Divines', with Akatosh (Dragon God of Time, regarded as 'Chief Deity of the Nine Divines'), Arkay (God of Life and Death), Dibella (Goddess of Beauty), Julianos (God of Wisdom), Kynareth (Goddess of the Elements), Mara (Goddess of Love), Stendarr (God of Mercy), Talos (God of Might and Honor), and Zenithar (God of Work and Commerce). In Cyrodiil, where I grew up, each of the large cities had the local chapel dedicated to one of those Nine Divines, and the chapel of Kvatch was favoring Akatosh. Praying to Talos, the divine form of the famed former general and Emperor Tiber Septim, was later on officially outlawed by the 'White-Gold Concordat' after the Great War, so that officially those who believed in Deities nowadays prayed to the Eight Divines now.

However, many citizens specifically here in Skyrim still prayed to Talos and the Nine Divines secretly, although the Thalmor tried to find and capture as many of the illegal Talos worshipers as they could; in the last years, I had heard unconfirmed reports about suspected Talos worshipers kidnapped and even tortured by the Thalmor, without permission or even knowledge from Jarls and hold guards. This was also one of the main motivations for the Stormcloak rebellion as far as I knew – they claimed that everybody should be allowed to pray to Talos freely, and High King Torygg had given in to the Thalmor too much; this was something I strongly believed in, too. The Stormcloaks also claimed "Skyrim for the Nords!", though, and despite being a Nord myself, I considered that slogan to be quite racist and unfair. After all, in my opinion, everybody else, be it Elves, Argonians or Khajiit, also should have a chance to live here if they wanted to, unless they came to Skyrim with bad intentions.

Anyway, in the vision Akatosh told me, Timotheus, to be in Riverwood day after tomorrow before sunset and meet a girl called Tamara, who would be coming down to Riverwood from Helgen in late afternoon. I was to get acquainted with her and offer my support and assistance, for a start. I also was supposed to believe her story, even if it sounded more like fantasy and legends than reality; I wondered what that would be about. Akatosh strongly suggested to be gentle with her, as her recent past had been quite turbulent and exhausting, and the tasks he had planned for her would be demanding as well – that's where I'd come in. He further told me that Tamara would be given a major and important task, more like a vocation and mission, and she'd need a lot of help to fulfill her role.

That was not entirely surprising. I had had visions from Akatosh a few times before, and a couple of times, starting with my teen years, he had been preparing me for a big task and mission coming up when I was 25 years old. It just so happened that my 25th birthday had been a few months earlier, in Rain's Hand, so that I was expecting something to happen soon. The part about 'meeting a girl' also sounded promising and enticing, as I was not attached and did not even have a girlfriend. A couple of years ago I had thought that I had something going with Saadia, the beautiful Redguard who used to work as barmaid in the 'Bannered Mare' in Whiterun. Soon after, though, it had turned out that she was a fugitive; her real name was Iman rather than Saadia, and she had apparently been responsible for some serious crimes in Hammerfell. Alik'r warriors had come searching for her and had told me her real story, something like betraying Hammerfell to the Aldmeri, so that I had felt compelled to deliver her to them in the end.

Changing my situation was one of the goals in life, but although I knew many girls and women, I had trouble talking to them about personal things and found myself stuttering when I tried. In addition, none of them seemed to have "potential" in my eyes, and my heart had not yet spoken. For instance, I sometimes spent time with Mila Valentia, when her mother Carlotta was busy, but Mila was nine years old – I found that it was easy for me to spend time with young girls like Mila (well, not quite all of them – Braith scared me a little), but not at all with older girls of about my age; maybe I was really too shy, as Inigo used to tell me. He would speak from experience, as I knew him to have some kind of relation with Lydia of Whiterun, a young, athletic, and well trained Nord serving in the personal guard of the Jarl.

I wondered if this girl I was to meet was a Nord, like myself. I had been raised in Cyrodiil, but was mostly a Nord, with some Altmer genes pushing my magicka and tallness; those genes were also responsible for my skin being not as pale as typical for a Nord. However, I did not really have a prejudice against other races, and I was aware of the fact that there were plenty of mixed race couples in Tamriel, mostly men/mer combinations. Having an Argonian as mate would probably not appeal to me, though, and I did not know – and probably did not even want to know – if this was possible at all.

"Inigo", I called out in the morning after breakfast, recalling the vision, "tomorrow we are going to Riverwood at least for one day. Make a list of things we need to buy and of those we might be able to sell and should take with us, please".

"Of course, my Thane and friend" Inigo replied. "It's about time that we meet our friends there again. Do you know for how long we will stay there?"

"No, I do not know for sure," I responded, "but the town is not far, as you know, and I expect that we will be back here for the night again."

Inigo, a Khajiit with a very special and untypical blueish fur, had been my housecarl since I had been bestowed the title of 'Thane of Whiterun' a few years earlier, and he was more a friend and companion than a servant to me. Being assigned a Khajiit as housecarl was something very much out the ordinary in Skyrim, and normally Khajiit were not even allowed to enter most cities. However, since I had picked up Inigo after finding him in Riften jail, he had been supporting me in many tasks and quests, and he had contributed almost as much as I had to helping citizens of Whiterun, clearing bandit lairs, fighting dangerous beasts, rescuing the occasional 'damsel in distress' and making the roads of the hold safe. Even Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, the hold՚s ruler, could not avoid recognizing this, and when he had declared me Thane of Whiterun – a title of great honor and respect – in appreciation of my many services to him and the hold, he had asked me if I wanted a formally trained housecarl or rather have Inigo elevated to that position, adding the privilege for him to enter city and Dragonsreach at any time. Although the formally trained housecarl would have been Lydia, an athletic Nord woman and capable warrior of about my age, the same one Inigo was in some kind of relationship with, I had picked Inigo, and I had never regretted that choice.

Later in the day I told Inigo about my vision, and he smirked when he heard the part about meeting a girl.

"Wow," he said, teasing me, "it does not happen every day that a God decides to play matchmaker, and it's about time for you, I should think."

"Inigo," I replied with a look of reproach, "we don't know if that is what's going to happen. Most likely I am just going to be some kind of sidekick or bodyguard without any romantic aspect. However, knowing Akatosh, at least my task should be neither boring nor useless."

"I bet it's much more than that" he smiled. "But at least, you can afford to spend some time on any kind of mission."

"Yes indeed," I nodded, "You are right about that."

I did not really have a dedicated profession per se, but made more than enough money by doing occasional quests with the Companions, smithing, and selling of potions prepared at home. A lot of people needed a constant supply of potions of healing, stamina, and restoring magicka, and as I was somewhat skilled in Alchemy, I always kept a constant supply running and sold the potions mostly to Arcadia in Whiterun, who did not have much time to collect ingredients herself. I also made sure that the potion larder at Jorrvaskr was always refilled. Many Companions were Nords and mostly unwilling to use magic, and healing potions were always needed. A simple 'Restore Health' could be made from ingredients which were easy to find, such as 'Blue Mountain Flower', 'Butterfly Wing', and 'Wheat' - for the latter, farmers were more than happy to provide some if I helped with the harvest.

So, yes, my friend was right – I could decide to leave this place and go for an extended journey without being bound by any obligations and without having to worry much about financial resources.

I spent the rest of the day speculating on what the following day would show, and I was really looking forward to the short trip to Riverwood I had on my agenda for tomorrow. Hopefully the task Akatosh had planned for me would be one I was good enough for; gods sometimes expected the oddest things, and we mortals found ourselves not always able to fulfill their demands, even when trying hard.

Soon after I fell asleep in the evening, I had a weird dream about a Khajiit with an odd fur color and a black dragon, and the dragon spoke something like: "I have returned, arrogant mortals – this world is mine!". What a nonsense – no dragons had been seen for many centuries, and what would a Khajiit want to do with a dragon anyway?

_[Author's Notes: For those who just start to read this story, please write a quick review on how you like it so far. If I get reviews pointing out some issues or errors, I am still willing to react and correct, although I have published more than 50 chapters by now.]_


	2. Chapter 2 - Waiting for the girl

**Chapter 2: Waiting for the girl in Riverwood**

_[17__th__ of Last Seed 4E 201]_

Waking up on the next day I found myself full of apprehension, and the dream was mostly forgotten. No, 'apprehension' was in fact not quite the right term, as I was looking forward to the day's events rather than dreading them. However, I also felt a tiny little bit of uneasiness thinking about the possibility of a romance option coming forward; Akatosh had not been specific about that aspect in the last vision, and I was not sure if I should hope for something like that or rather not. At this time, all I could do was to trust in Akatosh՚s plans and hope for the best. Time would tell, and I tried my best to be confident.

Right after a late breakfast, Inigo and I strolled towards Riverwood, taking our time. I only needed to be there in later afternoon, according to the vision, but taking time to meet good friends was always nice. Going there just took a little more than one hour from my home, Riverside Lodge, which I had inherited from my uncle shortly after my 18th birthday; it had been my home ever since, and it was conveniently located almost half way between Riverwood and Whiterun, right across the river from the road between those two settlements. Originally the house had only had one guestroom with two beds, but I had added three more rooms, one of them for Inigo and another for Jordis, my other housecarl, with the final being another general purpose guest room.

The sun was shining brightly, making the temperature very comfortable at this time of the year; birds were singing along the road, and colorful flowers blossomed almost everywhere. Only a very slight breeze barely moved the leaves as we crossed the bridge just north of town; looking down from the stone balustrade, we could see some salmon and river betty in the clear water. Inigo grinned and got down to the riverbed quickly to catch two or three salmon with his paws; he had quite some practice doing that. My faithful Khajiit companion announced that he was going to have the fish prepared for lunch in the local inn, and I smiled, as I liked to eat fish as much as he did, though I was by far less skilled in catching it. We arrived well before noon, and once we had delivered the salmon to the inn, we spent some time in the town's general store to sell some loot from a recently cleared bandit cave and some more stuff Inigo had selected for sale. We also bought a few supplies, mostly based on the list Inigo had prepared, and once we had what we wanted, Lucan Valerius, the store owner, mentioned:

"Thank you for your business, as usual. It is comforting to know that you trade with me on a regular basis, and I appreciate the merchandise you bring in, even if it is sometimes difficult to find buyers in that small town here, By the way, last night I think that I saw some bandits in the area around here; I hope that they're not planning to rob my store. While you're here in town, I'd appreciate if you could keep your eyes open, if you don't mind."

I promised that I'd do that and crossed the main street to visit Alvor, the blacksmith, who lived and worked right across the street. After asking if I could use his forge – I had done this earlier, and he knew that I was a reasonable smith – I spent some time repairing my armor and weapons and practicing smithing. Frodnar, the lumberjack's son, was watching with interest, and I wondered if he would want to learn to be a smith later on rather than following in his parents' business.

Knowing that the forge in Riverwood was not far from my home and that Alvor would usually allow me to use it, I had removed the smelter and forge my uncle had installed in the lodge՚s basement smithing area, only keeping the tanning rack, grindstone, and workbench – those did not require a fire. Maintaining a good forge and smelter fire took time and effort, and it was more efficient for me to work with Alvor rather than keeping and supplying my own forge. As compensation, I sometimes sold some of Alvor՚s merchandise in Whiterun – mostly items which Lucan, the owner of the local general store, believed he wouldn't be able to see here in this small town – and kept a steady supply of ore coming, which I found in loot or when a quest lead me to a mine. For some specific tasks, like forging advanced armor and weapons, Alvor and I sometimes even worked together, and we had gained an easy going friendship doing that. On some days, when the fire was not going as it should due to humid weather or so, I'd cast a fireball into it a few times, which Alvor appreciated. Using fire salts would also work, but those ingredients were hard to get. Some time ago I had searched and had eventually found ten of them for Balimund, the Riften blacksmith. He had claimed:

"The secret is my forge. It consumes fire salts, a strange mineral that burns as hot as Red Mountain lava."

To be honest, I had not noticed a difference between weapons forged by him with and without fire salts, but I had had no ambition to discuss that with him in detail.

Since I had joined the Dawnguard some years ago, I found their armor quite comfortable and used it a lot, but I wanted to see if I could improve my smithing skills and create higher quality glass or ebony armor, too, so that I used opportunities to practice when I could. I could use both light and heavy armor, but in general I preferred the light one, as it was much less noisy when walking and specifically when sneaking. I had also found out that high quality armor and weapons, ideally with magical enchantments added, could fetch high prices when sold, and while Alvor was better in smithing, I had started to dabble in enchantments. Sometimes I would take a load of armor and weapons from the blacksmith with me to Riverside Lodge and practice with enchantments, and while some of the resulting improved merchandise was provided to the Companions for free, the most were sold to merchants like Warmaiden's in Whiterun, with the profit shared between Alvor and myself.

The smithing efforts made me hungry, and right as lunch time came around and I was done with my work for today, Alvor came out with Dorthe, his daughter, next to him.

The girl asked her father: "Can I make something now, papa?"

Her father declined, though: "Not just yet, Dorthe. Now, as Timotheus is done using the forge, let me do some forging, and you need to keep watching. That's how you'll learn."

The little girl was not too happy about that: "All right. But I'm getting a bit tired of waiting."

I left them to their discussions and went over to the inn to meet Inigo there again. When we got our salmon with some sides served for lunch in the local inn by Orgnar – the innkeeper, Delphine, seemed to be out quite frequently – we enjoyed our meal, and no other customers were around at this time. Since the Civil War had started, as I had heard already in 4E 176 with the founding of the Stormcloaks, the number of travelers had gone down significantly, and inns probably lost a lot of business due to the war, specifically once the civil war had escalated by Jarl Ulfric challenging and killing High King Torygg. Orgnar confirmed that business was slow, and when I asked how things worked with the innkeeper being off that much, he told us:

"You know, Delphine is fair, but demanding. All of the time I get told 'The corn stores are getting low again, Orgnar' or 'I still need you to make a batch of those fried potatoes' or 'You promised me you'd sweep the entranceway'. When I am on my own here, I can do things in their own time, without being rushed."

I smiled at him and added:

"Good enough, and I like food cooked and prepared by you better than one from Delphine anyway!"

After lunch, we walked the town's main street and talked to various people, when suddenly Hilde, the local bard's mother, came along and seemed to be very excited:

„Nobody believes me, but I tell you, I saw a dragon!"

I guess that she was right – nobody really believed her. After all, dragons had been extinct for many centuries, and none of them had been seen for a really long time. However, she insisted and made some gestures with her hands, emphasizing her words:

"It was as big as the mountain, and black as night. It flew right over the barrow."

Sven, her son, had also approached now and replied:

"Dragons, now, is it? Big as a mountain, right? Please, mother. If you keep on like this everyone in town will think you're crazy. There are no dragons any longer, and I've got better things to do than listen to more of your fantasies."

"You'll see! It was a dragon! It'll kill us all and then you'll believe me!"

Hilde must have seen a very large bird, or maybe her eyes weren't as good as in younger years. On the other hand, looking in the direction of Helgen, although one could not really be sure, as the distance was too great, it looked like there were some dark clouds or maybe even smoke showing there, which was very odd on that bright and sunny day. Helgen was already in Falkreath hold, and we knew that the Jarl of Falkreath – the hold right south of Whiterun – who was supposed to look after his towns and people, was too lazy to do much, and he was unlikely to get an investigation done. I already pondered going towards Helgen and having a look, but recalled that I was supposed to stay here and wait for the mystery girl.

Not much happened during most of the afternoon. Inigo and I idled around and finally sat down in the plentiful grass to relax and enjoy the warm sunshine, while having some butterflies dance circles around us; a few times I got up to play tag with Dorthe, Alvor՚s daughter. Later on we idly listened to some conversation the young girl had with Frodnar:

"Wait, so...a costume? You're not serious..."

"Sure I am! We get some furs and tree branches and paint them white and tie them to Stump. And, instant Frostbite Spider!"

Stump was Frodnar՚s dog, and I somehow doubted that he'd like to be equipped with a costume.

"Frodnar, nobody's going believe your dog is a Frostbite Spider...And if they do...they'll kill him. Its not much of a prank, really."

"Oh yeah? And what would you rather do?"

"How about...a game of tag? You're it!" With those words Dorthe ran off.

"Hey, this is not fair! Get her, Stump!"

Inigo and I could not help ourselves and laughed. The two kids sure had some fun with each other, as they usually did, but I could not help wondering about their style of life here in the small town of Riverwood. They had loving parents and all, but wouldn't they sometimes miss the company of other children?

As we were still waiting for someone to arrive via the road from Helgen, according to the vision, we had carefully placed ourselves so that we could easily see the road coming into town from the south, and finally, not much more than one hour before sunset, we could see two people coming down the road along the river from the direction of the Guardian Stones, and thus potentially from Helgen. Once they got closer, I recognized Ralof, the Stormcloak captain and a childhood friend of mine, as one of them; the other one seemed to be a young female Khajiit – feline appearance, pointed ears, mostly fur covered, long tail – with a very particular fur color, somewhere between blue and green, like turquoise, which was very uncommon for a Khajiit as far as I knew. Both of the travelers looked quite battered and exhausted; they were clothed in little more than rags and had several injuries visible on their bodies.

Gerdur, the local lumberjack and kind of unofficial town major, stood next to us when the two of them showed up, and of course she recognized her brother. The three of us went to meet them, and while Inigo and I soon looked at the travelers' injuries and did our restoration magic, she started to ask many questions:

"Brother! Mara՚s Mercy, its good to see you! But is it safe for you to be here?"

"Gerdur …"

"We had heard that some Stormcloaks had been captured. Were you part of them? If yes, how did you escape? Won't the Imperials be looking for you here, too?"

"Gerdur... I'm fine. At least now I am."

"Are you hurt? What's happened?" the woman continued and, looking at the Khajiit now: "And who is this? One of your comrades?"

Ralof replied: "Not a comrade, but a friend. I owe her my life, in fact. Look, is there somewhere we can talk? There's no telling when the news from Helgen will reach the Imperials…"

"Helgen? Has something happened? But you are right; follow me."

The Nord lumberjack seemed to realize now that the two travelers were not in the proper condition to answer a lot of questions and needed a place to rest; there would be plenty of time for question later on. Inigo got two potions of stamina regeneration from his pack and handed one to each of the two, as they really looked tired and exhausted, and Gerdur started to lead our group towards her home. On the way through town, though, Frodnar recognized his uncle, Ralof, and called out with excitement:

"Uncle Ralof! Can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?"

Gerdur replied, though: "Hush, Frodnar. This is no time for your games. Go and watch the south road. Come find us if you see any Imperial soldiers coming into town."

Frodnar looked disappointed: "Aw, mama, I want to stay and talk with Uncle Ralof!"

Ralof happily told him: "Look at you, almost a grown man! It won't be long before you will be joining the fight yourself."

Frodnar proudly nodded: "That's right! Don't worry, Uncle Ralof, I won't let those soldiers sneak up on you."

While the boy proudly marched off with his assignment, Gerdur guided the two wary travelers into her home, to feed them and offer beds for resting from their apparent exhaustion. On the way Inigo and I picked up a few words like 'block', 'dragon', and 'fight', but we could ask them about what happened next morning, Gerdur stated, and nobody dared to object. However, we also got to hear the Khajiit girl՚s name, and it turned out that she was called 'T'mara'.

_[Author's note: Now let's see what the girl's story is. BTW, I am also using the Skyrim SE mod 'Riverside Lodge' - my compliments to 'Lupus' on Nexusmods for this great player home.]_


	3. Chapter 3 - Getting acquainted with her

**Chapter 3: Getting acquainted with T'mara**

_[17__th__ / 18__th__ of Last Seed 4E 201]_

Wow – when I heard that, I was quite sure that the 'Tamara' Akatosh had mentioned and this 'T'mara' Khajiit – a quite pretty and young female one, if my eyes had not deceived me on the day before – were one and the same; after all, the pronunciation was practically identical, and Akatosh had not spelled the name in the vision of two nights ago.

Inigo and I had walked back to our home and spent the night in Riverside Lodge again, and I had all kinds of wild dreams; I do not think I recalled details from even a single one next morning, though. Getting acquainted with a Khajiit girl had been one of my secret fantasies for some years; I had met several male Khajiit – besides Inigo, some caravan traders and specifically J'zargo in the College of Winterhold – but no females. Well, I might have seen and talked to a few females in caravans, but had never had a chance to really have a conversation about anything except for trading, bartering and rumors, at least.

After breakfast, Inigo and I walked back to the town of Riverwood again, and we found Gerdur and their guests just finishing breakfast and sitting down on the grass behind the house, so that we could join Gerdur, Ralof, and T'mara for a long talk outside. Gerdur knew me to be quiet and easy going, and she also thought that another Khajiit՚s presence – Inigo – might be good to make the Khajiit traveler feel more relaxed.

While Gerdur՚s husband Hod was working the lumber mill and we heard the occasional noises from tree trunks moved towards the big saw and the dull thumps from slices dropping down to the holding area, the two travelers reported what they had experienced in the last few days. Apparently, they had been in Helgen, with a group of Stormcloaks, including Ulfric, the Jarl of Windhelm and leader of the rebellion, who had been captured by the Imperials and scheduled for execution.

Ralof started the report:

"The Imperials ambushed us outside Darkwater Crossing. Like they knew exactly where we'd be; maybe a traitor gave away our plans. That was... three days ago, now. My comrade here was caught when crossing into Skyrim from Bruma as an innocent bystander. She was just put together and imprisoned with us, and she was not given a chance to explain and justify her presence. They put us on carriages and we stopped in Helgen yesterday morning; I thought it was all over when we were forced to step down from the carriage."

Ralof added angrily:

"They had us lined up to the headsman's block and ready to start chopping, without trials or anything like that. For my Khajiit companion here, the Imperials had even decided to ignore the lists."

Gerdur looked enraged: "The cowards!"

Ralof continued: "Yes, quite so. Of course, they wouldn't dare give Ulfric a fair trial. All of Skyrim would have seen the truth then. General Tullius was there, and he plainly accused Jarl Ulfric: 'You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace.' But then, when one of our comrades was already dead – the brave man sure is in Sovngarde now! – and T'mara՚s head was down on the block,... out of nowhere... a dragon attacked..."

The pretty Khajiit, who had been quiet so far, explained further:

"Practically out of nowhere, a huge black dragon showed up, placed itself on the top of the large tower and somehow made a rain of fire come down on Helgen. This allowed most Stormcloaks and me to escape; Ralof and I got separated from Jarl Ulfric and most of his soldiers, but managed to escape through Helgen keep and some caverns, having to fight Imperials, frostbite spiders, and even a cave bear."

For the first time I heard her voice, and it was somehow different from what I had expected, in a positive way, like almost alluring. I couldn't wait to hear more from her, and she continued once we had digested her words:

"We did not have enough potions for healing all of our injuries. I know some basic restoration and healing, but my magicka pool is quite small, so that we needed to cope with what we had. Close to the Guardian Stones, a pack of wolves attacked us, and while wolves normally do not bother me much, if was a challenge for us, exhausted as we were."

To underline her statement, she showed her left arm, where the remnants of a big bite mark were still visible, despite our healing efforts on the day before.

Ralof concluded:

"Eventually though, we succeeded to get here, and I knew that we'd find help."

At the end of the report, silence prevailed for quite a few minutes. The appearance of a dragon was now confirmed – Hilde had been right, after all – and we also had learned that the rebellion had almost found a premature end with Jarl Ulfric՚s execution, which had apparently been prevented by the dragon. Did the dragon appear under control of the Stormcloaks, or was this unrelated and just an odd coincidence?

Gerdur stated that the Jarl of Whiterun needed to learn about recent events quite urgently, and that somebody would have to travel there today. As an eye witness report would be invaluable, Ralof or T'mara should do that. Ralof was skeptical, though:

"Whiterun is still neutral, but I know that the Jarl tends to be on the Imperial side. He knows me to be a Stormcloak, and if I show up, he may not believe me. Also, it is my duty to report to Windhelm as quickly as possible and find out if Jarl Ulfric made it home safely."

Gerdur responded: "This leaves T'mara as the other eyewitness. But I cannot ask her to get on the road again on her own so shortly after yesterday's events. She has not yet fully recovered, and I would not want to lose her to a pack of wolves or a saber cat!"

During her last words the resolute Nord lumberjack looked at me, and while she did not know about my vision, I got the hint that this was where I had an opportunity to make myself available and do what Akatosh asked me. Thus I offered:

"Inigo and I could join her and guide her safely to Whiterun, if she is willing to accept our company."

T'mara was skeptical at first when she looked at me:

"You look like a capable fighter, but I do not know you at all. How do I know that I can trust Inigo and you?"

Gerdur hastened to explain:

"T'mara, Timotheus here is a Thane of Whiterun. If you do not know what this implies: The Jarl of Whiterun has rewarded him for his many services supporting him, the Hold, and the Hold's citizens. He and Inigo are two of the most reliable and trustworthy people around here."

T'mara pondered this for a short time, looked at Ralof, and when he nodded to confirm his sister's statement, she finally admitted:

"I am not familiar with some of the names and titles you just used, but all right, I will trust your judgment. Yes, I think that I will gladly accept your company for the trip. How far is it to Whiterun from here?

The last two sentences were directed to me again, and my answer was:

"About three hours walking at a decent pace. I know a place half way where we can have lunch, and we should be able to arrive in Whiterun in early afternoon. I will gladly show you to Dragonsreach and introduce you to the Jarl."

Gerdur mentioned:

"I like this – thank you, Timotheus and Inigo. However, you may have to ask the Jarl to get outside and meet her, as Khajiit are not allowed in the city – with the exception of Inigo, as we know."

T'mara asked why that should be a rule, and Gerdur explains that many citizens of Skyrim, in particular Nords, had a prejudice against other races. Khajiit were not tolerated in most cities and in general suspected to be thieves, liars, drug addicts, and more. Jarl Balgruuf seemed to be willing to revise the rule at least partially, as he rightly realized this this image was probably caused just by a few 'bad apples' rather them all Khajiit. My friend and Housecarl Inigo had contributed a lot to the Jarl՚s change of mind.

Before leaving Riverwood, we went into the main store to see what T'mara might need. When we entered the store, a conversation was ongoing between Lucan and his sister Camilla:

"Well, one of us has to do something!"

"We are done talking about this."

"Well what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it!"

"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing! Oh, customers. Sorry you had to hear that."

"No problem" I replied. "Tell us, Lucan, what happened?"

"Well, we did have a bit of a... break-in. Last evening, when everybody's attention was on the two travelers, somebody must have used the opportunity; must have been the thieves I saw around in the night before. They took the one ornament I'd never sell, it's a pity – the ornament is made of solid gold, in the shape of a dragon's claw. But we still have plenty to sell. Robbers were only after one thing, apparently."

I pondered that and replied carefully:

"Maybe I could help you get the claw back."

"You would do that, really? I've got some coin coming in from my last shipment. It's yours if you bring my claw back. If you're going after those thieves, you should head to Bleak Falls Barrow, northeast of town. I have heard some rumors about them meeting there."

I confirmed that I'd keep that in mind, but wouldn't be able to commit myself to that task right now, as T'mara and Whiterun had clear priority – maybe later. T'mara mentioned:

"I saw that barrow yesterday; Ralof pointed it out when we were close to the Guardian Stones. But we were too far away to see if bandits were over there."

Before we left the store, we managed to get a simple leather armor for T'mara. Getting an armor for a Khajiit was always difficult, as adaption for the tail was required, so that was all we could get on short notice.

A short time later, we – Inigo, T'mara and I – started our walk towards Whiterun. This morning a light drizzle was going down, but the temperature was still very comfortable and seasonably warm. Camilla insisted to stroll with us to the north end of the town, and she pointed out the steep path to Bleak Falls Barrow, branching off from the main road right after the bridge. Of course I knew about it, being a resident of the area, but it was T'mara՚s first time here – she even claimed it was her first time in entire Skyrim. Camilla eventually walked back to the store, and T'mara and I followed the winding path close to the river; most of the time we could hear a little murmur from the waves and rapids.

We had almost reached the small bridge to my home, when a pack of wolves showed up and decided to find out if we were suitable for a meal. A single one or even two might not have attacked a group of three armed humans – well, one human and two Khajiit, of course – but there were five or six of them. They were already too close for the bow, but I was quick to conjure my familiar. A few years ago I had spent a couple of years at the college of Winterhold and learned magic above and beyond the simple restoration and flame I had known since my boyhood; specifically, I had learned to conjure my personal familiar, which in many cases is a wolf, but sometimes a different animal. For me, it turned out to be some kind of agile and beautiful Pahmer – a semi-sentient predator at home in Elsweyr – and while Pammy had started out as a cub, she was almost fully grown now, and she stayed for up to half a day when conjured; that way I could use her as an excellent night guard when sleeping in the wilds. Anyway, I conjured Pammy and drew my greatsword, all within a couple of seconds, and was ready for the attack. I glanced towards T'mara, who was frozen for a second or two, but she was a Khajiit and hopefully used to defending herself with claws if required – I had not yet looked into her weapons and fighting skills, as I had not wanted to impose on her. Besides, Inigo was close to her. Seeing Pammy made the wolves very cautious suddenly and slowed down their attack; thus I could use my sword efficiently – Pammy and I had all wolves killed quickly except one who was jumping on T'mara. I was getting a little bit afraid, although it was a smaller wolf, but before Inigo reacted, she jumped into action, stepped aside and raked the wolf with her claws; the wolf fell down, just to be picked up and killed by Pammy.

T'mara looked at Pammy suspiciously, still ready for a fight, and I was quick to explain that Pammy was my familiar. Then I said:

"T'mara, I really should have asked you about your preferred weapons and fighting skills before starting this trip; I was hoping that you'd be able to defend yourself, but I should have made sure."

She responded:

"That's all right; you know, I am not a cub anymore. Besides, after all what happened recently, I have not been in the mood for much talking. But, as the three of us – or maybe four, with your familiar – are apparently supposed to spend more time together, we need to talk, and I am ready for it now."

"All right – let's have a break on the porch of my home, right over there."

She looked surprised: "Your home? This nice house over there?"

I confirmed, and we crossed the bridge to sit down at the table on the porch. Fortunately, the porch had a roof, so that we were protected from the light rain.

Before we got down for a light lunch, I asked her about her way of speaking. A typical Khajiit would talk about him- or herself in the third person, using "This one" or his/her name as subject rather than "I". Inigo was the only notable exception I had encountered so far. T'mara stated that she found the men/mer "normal" speaking more comfortable and natural, and that she had adapted to it soon after leaving Elsweyr. That also had applied to Inigo, by the way, according to what he had told me soon after we had met.

To get the conversation going, I elaborated a little on my background, without mentioning Akatosh for now. My childhood in Cyrodiil in various cities, education as an Imperial – thus also my Imperial name – and my uncle՚s letter when I was just 18 years old; he had called me to Skyrim when he was getting old and sick, and I had spent his last few weeks with him in Riverside Lodge. Lacking other close relatives, he had left the house to me, and I had decided to stay for a while. Being close to Whiterun and gifted with a tall and powerful body – I was about as muscled as Farkas, my shield brother at the Companions, and even taller than him – I had not been able to escape the attention of the Companions of Whiterun and had joined them quickly; they took care of weapons training and further body education. As I also wanted to extend my magic skills, I later on spent about two years at the College of Winterhold, focusing mostly on restoration and conjuration. I had visited most cities in Skyrim, spent some time in Solitude with favors and quests for High King Torygg – before he had been killed by Ulfric just a few months ago – to be awarded the status of Thane of Solitude and getting assigned a housecarl, Jordis the Sword-Maiden. I had not purchased a home in Solitude, though; rather, I had brought my new housecarl with me to Whiterun hold. The Thaneship in Solitude, however, only happened after I was already Thane of Whiterun, and I considered Whiterun my home hold, and Jarl Balgruuf some kind of fatherly friend. I called Jordis out from the lodge, to introduce her to T'mara.

Realizing that I had talked for quite some time, I now encouraged T'mara to let us know something about her, emphasizing that she should not feel compelled to mention anything she did not want to. She started:

"Naturally, I spent my childhood in Elsweyr. Since I had my blue-green fur color early on already, I was looked down on by most other Khajiit, as they all claimed this is not natural and a sign of bad character or being a witch, until I almost started to believe this, too. I was frequently mobbed, despite my parents' attempts to prevent this. Both my father and mother died when I was 17 years old, and the people around me were quick to let me know that I was no longer welcome in town. Soon I realized that my situation was exactly the same in other towns, and my only option seemed to be leaving Elsweyr entirely. This I did, and although it was not part of my original plan, I wanted to have a look at Skyrim. Having just recently heard that Khajiit are not exactly welcome here, too, maybe I should have decided to look somewhere else, but here I am, and I am getting tired to run again."

Looking at Inigo, she added:

"Inigo, as you have a fur color and patterning similar to mine, I wonder if you had similar issues when you grew up in Elsweyr?"

Inigo replied:

"Yes, indeed, I was mobbed as well, although I did have a few powerful friends with influence. When I was an adult, those friends suggested that I might want to explore other parts of Tamriel. This I did, and when I found Skyrim, I ended up in Riften and in jail soon after. You see, Timotheus and I had met before, and in one of our friendly fights I had managed to hit him in a way to make him unconscious for some time. I panicked and thought him to be dead, and felt so guilty, that I delivered myself to the next jail, which happened to be Riften. He took some time to find me when he had recovered, but find me he did, and he convinced me to work and live together with him. I have enjoyed doing that for the past years, and we have undergone and survived many adventures together."

T'mara pondered this for a few minutes, and then asked:

"So, maybe Skyrim is not that bad for a Khajiit after all, at least not when you have good friends around, I guess? Maybe I should give it a chance. Anyway, I am glad that I found the two of you, and that you are willing to guide me to Whiterun at least."

Relaxing her left paw, she let it rest on Pammy՚s shoulder and started to pet her, which my familiar, who was still with us, graciously allowed and seemed to enjoy, although she was usually more cautious with strangers.

Looking back at my guest, I found her looking right at me, and I consciously noticed her cat eyes, with pupils forming a vertical slit rather than round, for the first time. Sure, I had noticed their special eyes with other Khajiit before, like with Inigo. but looking into T'mara՚s eyes was much more mesmerizing than I had expected, specifically as the iris color was slightly different from other Khajiit, more green than brown or dark yellowish.

_[Author's Notes: Here we go – a very special young female Khajiit is here, but she's not quite a 'damsel in distress', as we will see soon. Inigo՚s background in the Riften jail is similar to what you can experience in the great 'Inigo' mod. Please review and let me know how you like the story so far!]_


	4. Chapter 4 - Reporting to Jarl Balgruuf

**Chapter 4: Reporting to the Jarl of Whiterun**

_[18__th__ of Last Seed 4E 201]_

Having our lunch break and the initial conversation concluded, I asked T'mara if she needed some weapons, and she wanted to acquire a few large knifes or daggers, which she could use for throwing. I got some of my nice Elven daggers from the lodge's armory for her – over the last years, I had accumulated quite a selection of different weapons and armor, some of them almost completely unused and in pristine condition or at least properly repaired – and somehow she found a way to hide the daggers in her leather armor.

Noon time now behind us, we continued our walk towards Whiterun, in a slightly merrier mood after the exchange of information we had just had. The light rain had stopped, and some isolated sun rays were piercing the clouds, illuminating a rainbow showing above the rain clouds which were now behind us.

Soon we could see Dragonsreach, the Jarl՚s residence, in the distance between the trees; T'mara stopped for a moment to admire the view. The trees opened up, and we reached the crossroads at the two bridges, just southeast of the city. Inigo pointed out some waypoints in the area, we watched the various butterflies, which seemed always to be plentiful around here, and turned left, passing the Honningbrew Meadery. Although I was still a little embarrassed about it, I admitted to T'mara that I did not like to drink mead, ale, or wine – rather, I preferred milk, fruit juices, and tea. T'mara did not laugh, as she probably was not aware of the meaning of the term 'milk drinker' in Skyrim, and she said:

"Why not, this seems to be quite sensible, and probably much better for one's health anyway."

Inigo chuckled and explained about the background, the term 'milk drinker' frequently being used as a synonym for 'coward' or 'weakling' by Nords. T'mara looked up at me and asked with a wide smile:

"Surely, with your size, few people dare to call you milk drinker, or do they?"

I had to agree – very few indeed dared to do this in an offending context, or at least they didn't when I was around to hear it.

When the meadery was behind us, we were about to pass a few farms, and suddenly we noticed quite a big commotion to our left. It looked like a giant had moved into a farm area and was destroying most of the farmer's plants there; a lot of the cabbage, leeks, and potato plants had been stepped on. Giants were very tall almost humanoid – more orc like, really – beings, between 3m and 4m tall, and they were quite common in Skyrim, usually wandering close to their campfires and tending their mammoths, processing their milk into cheese and guarding them. Unless one got too close to them or threatened their mammoths, they were usually peaceful, but once they got alerted, they were formidable foes, and they used huge clubs for fighting.

This particular giant seemed to be quite out of his territory. Three warriors were busy fighting it, but seemed to have a tough time; soon I recognized my shield sisters Aela and Ria and my shield brother Farkas, members of the Companions of Whiterun as I was, too. Of course I decided to assist them, but before I could figure out the best way of action and prepare to get my crossbow ready, T'mara had already moved closer and, at astonishing speed, threw the daggers she had received from me into the giant's body. The giant was apparently hurt and turned around to her; Farkas took advantage of the changed situation, as the giant՚s attention was distracted, and pushed his greatsword into the beasts՚s chest with full power, which finally killed it off.

I introduced T'mara to Aela, Ria, and Farkas, and Aela praised T'mara՚s help:

"You seem to be a good fighter; if you want to join the Companions, talk to Kodlak in Whiterun, our harbinger. My shield brother Timotheus can show you how to find Jorrvaskr, if you have not been in Whiterun before."

Being complimented like that, T'mara beamed, and I had to admit to myself that her reaction had been quite fast and precise. With that, the three of them left; T'mara retrieved her daggers from the giant, cleaned them, and stored them in her leather armor again. Just when we were about to move on, the farmer – an Imperial with the name Severio Pelagia – came out from hiding and thanked the Khajiit:

"Thanks to the Nine that this giant is dead now; I really appreciate what the Companions and you did. It will need some time and effort to replace some of the plants the giant trampled down on, of course, By the way, if you go into Whiterun, you should buy some produce from Carlotta՚s market stall. Most of it comes from my farm."

While we walked towards the gate to the city, T'mara started to ask some more questions on the Companions, but I told her that we first needed to talk to Jarl Balgruuf. As he still did not allow Khajiit into his city, I left T'mara with Inigo just outside of the city gates and rushed up to Dragonsreach. Being known well by almost all of the guards, I could proceed unhindered and found the Jarl available. When he heard that a young female Khajiit had news on Helgen and a dragon, but she was not allowed to enter the city, he pondered options for a while, and finally ordered:

"Irileth, send a couple of guards with our Thane here, and escort this Khajiit here to me. My need to learn from an eyewitness is more important than the 'no Khajiit rule', at least this time!"

Irileth responded: "Aye, my Jarl" and instructed two of the guards accordingly.

The guards went with me through the city gate, we picked up Inigo – who was allowed anyway as my housecarl – and T'mara, and we walked up to Dragonsreach again. Right after passing through the city gates, T'mara was clearly enjoying what she saw, this being her first time in a proper Skyrim city. It was somewhat unfortunate that we couldn't linger, take our time to look at the various houses and chat with residents, but the Jarl waited for us, and I told T'mara that I'd take my time later to introduce her to some of my friends here. We quickly walked up from the Plains District, passing the market, to the Wind District, passing the beautiful Gildergreen tree, and further up the stairs to the Cloud District and the Jarl՚s awe-inspiring residence.

Entering the Great Hall in Dragonsreach, the young Khajiit was again visibly impressed. I could understand that; seeing the big and heavy doors, the huge support beams, the multiple banners and the skillfully adorned balconies at the sides for the first time, was indeed something. T'mara walked forward cautiously and slowly, registering the nice and noble clothes worn by the nobles being present, the shiny silverware on the long tables by the fire, and finally seeing the Jarl´s throne, with something which looked like a big dragon skull mounted above it.

Irileth, as she had been ordered to have T'mara brought here, made no further moves to interfere. Seeing the Khajiit approaching his throne, Jarl Balgruuf addressed her:

"Welcome to Dragonsreach. I have been told that you have something vitally important to tell me."

"I think I have, yes. I have news from Helgen, about the dragon attack."

"You were at Helgen when it was attacked? Really? You saw this dragon with your own eyes?"

"Quite so – I was there when the Imperials were about to execute Ulfric Stormcloak. Then, the dragon attacked. Coming seemingly out of nowhere."

The Jarl sighed: "I should have guessed Ulfric would be mixed up in this."

T'mara continued: "The dragon more or less destroyed Helgen. And last I saw it was heading this way."

"By Ysmir, Irileth was right!"

Jarl Balgruuf ordered some guards to be sent to Riverwood right away, held out a nicely crafted pair of leather gauntlets and added to T'mara:

"Well done. You sought me out, on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it. Here, take this as a small token of my esteem. There is another thing you could do for me, actually. Something suitable for someone of your particular talents, perhaps. Come, let's go find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons."

Following the Jarl, we walked over to Farengar՚s study. The court wizard had been involved in some of his studies and had not overheard our earlier conversation, and as the Jarl had mentioned that Farengar was looking into related matters, T'mara first asked the wizard once the Jarl had introduced us:

"Have you encountered any dragons?"

"Sadly, no" Farengar replied. "My work affords me few opportunities for such an adventure. Perhaps some here will bring one to Dragonsreach, like Olaf One-Eye once did. What a fascinating conversation that would be!"

"The Jarl said you had a project you needed help with."

"So the Jarl thinks you can be of use to me? Oh yes, he must be referring to my research into the dragons. Yes, I could use someone to fetch something for me. Well, when I say fetch, I really mean delve into a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or may not actually be there."

"What does this have to do with dragons? Certainly you don't think that one can find a dragon in a ruin?"

"Ah, no mere brute mercenary, but a thinker – perhaps even a scholar? You see, when the stories of dragons began to circulate, many dismissed them as mere fantasies, rumors. Impossibilities. One sure mark of a fool is to dismiss anything that falls outside his experience as being impossible. But I began to search for information about dragons – where had they gone all those years ago? And where were they coming from?"

"So what do you want me to do?"

"As it happens, I learned of a certain stone tablet said to be housed in Bleak Falls Barrow – a 'Dragonstone', said to contain a map of dragon burial sites. Go to Bleak Falls Barrow, find this tablet – no doubt interred in the main chamber – and bring it to me. Simplicity itself, really."

Bleak Falls Barrow again – of course I had seen it before, and I had been close to the entrance a few times, up in the eternal snow region, but I had never seen a reason to actually enter. Nordic Barrows did not really appeal to me, and I usually only got in if there was a good reason, like a well paid quest or a rescue mission.

Farengar finally mentioned that he would ask the Jarl to let her enter the city again after she had found the stone, and turned away from us, immediately focused on his work again.

When we had left Dragonsreach again, T'mara looked at me:

"Somehow I do not really expect this be that simple as Farengar claims. Do you and Inigo know what to expect in a Nordic barrow?"

I responded:

"Yes, we do, at least in general, and we have been in a few of them before, though not in Bleak Falls Barrow. Most likely there will be draugr and skeever, plus quite a few traps. It is also quite common for bandits to claim the exterior and first few rooms of such a ruin as their lair. Not exactly a friendly environment, and certainly not simple, as Farengar put it. However, if you accept our help and company, Inigo and I will enter the barrow together with you, and we can kill two birds with one stone, by looking for the wizard՚s Dragonstone and for Lucan՚s Golden Claw."

The Khajiit slowly nodded, and while we slowly stepped down the stairs from Dragonsreach into the city again, I pointed out the districts of the city, with the 'Cloud District', basically just Dragonsreach behind us, the 'Wind District' where most citizens lived and also Jorrvaskr, of course, and the 'Plains District', with most of the merchants, the inns, and the marketplace. We passed the Gildergreen tree, and I told my companion:

"The huge Gildergreen tree over there symbolizes Kynareth՚s blessings of nature and has been here in the city for a very long time. The priestesses and acolytes of Kynareth over there in the temple tend it, and we are all proud of that great tree."

When we had moved down to the marketplace, I took my time to introduce T'mara to some of the merchants. Carlotta and Mila had already closed their market stall and had gone home, presumably, but Anoriath, the Bosmer, was still there, offering mostly meat.

"The finest cuts, fresh from the wilds!" he advertised his wares.

My Khajiit companion got curious: "Did you kill all this game yourself?"

"Oh, yes." the vendor confirmed. "Hunting is my great passion. That's why my brother and I opened a shop to sell hunting supplies. It's the Drunken Huntsman, down by the main gate. He tends the store, and I've got this stall here."

T'mara bought some of the meat, explaining that she wanted to have some of it for dinner, if possible, and searched in her pockets for payment. Eventually she looked up at me and admitted with a hint of embarrassment:

"Sorry, I forgot that I spent my last few septims in Riverwood."

"Not a problem" I replied and paid what she had bought, to be rewarded with a thankful smile from T'mara.

We also stepped into Arcadia's Cauldron for a moment, and I purchased a few potions I had trouble mixing on my own. T'mara curiously looked around and sniffed the local smells, and she got encouraged by Arcadia:

"You'll find tonics, salves, poultices, and potions on my shelves. Browse, to your heart's content. By the way, if you don't mind me saying, you... look rather pale. Could be Ataxia. It's quite a problem back home in Cyrodiil."

"What?" T'mara squealed and looked at herself with some concern showing on her face. "Ataxia? You really think so?"

"Calm down, T'mara" I stated. "Arcadia tries this with most new customers, just hoping that they'll buy a few potions. It's a prank!"

When she had calmed down, we walked further down towards the city gate, and I pointed out a few more shops and places. We left the city through the main gate, and as we walked down towards the stables, I suggested:

"The sun will set in a couple of hours; what about walking back to Riverside Lodge and getting to bed, so that we are well rested for tomorrow's work? I should be able to find a comfortable bed in a guest room for you, and in order to get to Bleak Falls Barrow, we will need to go in this direction anyway."

T'mara happily agreed, and we turned left again towards the crossroads. The sun was already close to the horizon now, but we safely made it back to Riverside Lodge; the Khajiit girl was clearly exhausted from today's events and after meeting so many different people, and she was not talking much on the road.

When we arrived, we handed over the meat T'mara had purchased – with my money – and Jordis prepared a nice dinner for all of us. The Khajiit was shown to a guest room, and soon we rested our heads and bodies in the comfortable beds in my lodge after an eventful day.

_[Author's Notes: When playing, I find myself carefully checking my health and potential illnesses sometimes after talking to Arcadia, kind of falling for her prank. Off to Bleak Falls Barrow next!]_


	5. Chapter 5 - Bleak Falls Barrow

**Chapter 5: Bleak Falls Barrow**

_[19__th__ of Last Seed 4E 201]_

Shortly after sunrise the next morning, Jordis served a filling breakfast, and we discussed our plans. My housecarl from Solitude claimed that she was getting bored and asked to be allowed to join us, which I happily granted. So there were going to be four of us – Jordis, Inigo, T'mara, and me – plus my familiar – that should be good enough for all potential dangers in and around the Nordic ruin.

We packed some supplies – potions, water bottles, some dried meat and bread, a few spare weapons – and were soon on our way, taking the side road to the right just before the bridge leading to Riverwood. Pammy got conjured and jumped all around us, seemingly quite happy to be with a larger group this time. T'mara had equipped herself with an Elven bow and some arrows in addition to her daggers, claiming that she could handle a bow better than a sword. Inigo found this believable, as he shared this attitude, whereas Jordis needed a sword or two to be efficient. I had my fire enchanted greatsword and my crossbow, which I liked for its power and its ability to penetrate most armor – I got it from working with the Dawnguard. I had also advised T'mara that the entry to the barrow was on high altitude, and there would be snow and ice – she happily accepted a fur cloak for protection against the cold.

When I was younger, I had never understood why Khajiit did not like Skyrim. They were fur covered and thus should be nicely protected against the cold. Later on, I had learned from Inigo that a normal Khajiit fur was adapted to the warm sands of Elsweyr and not much help against the bitter cold of Skyrim. As a matter of fact, we Nords with an inborn protection against cold fared much better here. One could frequently see Nords even in snow showing lots of bare skin on arms and legs, and I had been hunting saber cats with Aela, my shield sister, in the snow, with her in short sleeves and a skirt, and claiming not to be cold at all.

The first part up to Bleak Falls Barrow was quite uneventful, except for a few wolves and one bear, which we quickly disposed of. About half way to the barrow, already on snow covered ground, there was a small watch tower. As Jarl Balgruuf did not bother to keep all towers occupied by his guards, I suspected some bandits close by and had us all approach under cover. When we were close enough to actually see bandits, I asked T'mara if she wanted to attack first with her bow, which she agreed to. She hit the first one right in the throat, but the others saw their comrade fall down and started moving; her second arrow only hit another bandit in the left arm, and the remaining villains attacked us. I sent Pammy off to distract the bandits, killed one with my crossbow, and Jordis went into close combat with the final bandit boss. She started sweating, but the bandit chief had to find out the hard way that she actually could handle a sword, and better than him, even. We found a few more potions and a couple of coin pouches in the tower, and proceeded further up the path.

Looking around and watching the snowflakes and the snow cover on the ground, I wondered – not for the first time – how it was possible to see summer in full swing with flowers blossoming and temperatures warm enough to swim – even for non Nords – at lower elevations like Riverwood, while up here, after just a few hours of walking and climbing, we encountered sub zero temperatures and snow. I guess that this was Skyrim for you. I knew of course that areas like Winterhold had eternal winter, and the ground there was snow covered all year long.

The wind picked up, and it started to snow more heavily, so that we could only vaguely see the huge barrow stone structures when we were quite close already. Finding more bandits might be more challenging in those conditions, and to simplify this, I sent Pammy ahead again. My Pahmer familiar was more than a match for a single bandit, and she could find them with her nose even in almost zero visibility conditions, where I would have to rely on my luck.

After Pammy had managed to clear the way, we could enter the barrow, and immediately the blazing wind and snow was replaced by semidarkness and almost silence, so that we could hear more bandits talking very loudly further down; they had apparently not noticed our entering the barrow. We sneaked forward according to our abilities. To be honest, I certainly was no expert sneaker, and neither was Jordis, who kept back, but I had a powerful ring of sneak support from an earlier quest which helped a lot; in addition to that, I had enchanted my Dawnguard boots with a sneak enhancement. Soon we were close enough to understand some of what the bandits were talking about:

"So we're just supposed to sit here while Arvel runs off with that golden claw?"

"That dark elf wants to go on ahead, let him. Better than us risking our necks."

"What if Arvel doesn't come back? I want my share from that claw!"

"Just shut it and keep an eye out for trouble."

Rather than listening further, Inigo, T'mara and I all shot once, and we hit the two bandits sitting around the small campfire. We checked the chests around for loot, but did not find much.

"So," Inigo summarized, "they seem to have the 'Golden Claw', and a guy called Arvel ran ahead, it looks like."

"Let's see if we can catch up with him before the draugr get him" I replied, and we moved ahead into a passage, until we reached another room.

After killing a few skeever there, we could see another bandit ahead of us pulling a lever, just to be spiked by many arrows, supposedly by a trap. Entering that room, we saw various pillars and tablets with symbols in different locations all over the room, and I immediately knew that we had found a Nordic puzzle. Although I had a good idea on how to approach the puzzle, I turned to T'mara and asked her about it. As she claimed that it was her first time in Skyrim, I did not really expect her to be an expert on puzzles in Nordic ruins, but I was curious if she was smart enough to find the solution. The Khajiit started looking and thinking, went into all corners of the room, and experimentally turned a few pillars. Then she doubtfully told me:

"Well, the obvious solution seems to be to turn all pillars to show the same symbols as the tablets closest to them, but it can't be that easy, can it?"

I told her that this indeed seemed to be the likely solution, and that Nordic puzzles usually did not require a very superior intellect to solve, but as we had seen a few minutes earlier, a typical Nord was likely to pull the lever first before thinking about potential consequences and puzzle solutions. T'mara turned all puzzle pieces as indicated by the closest tablets, and to be safe I cast a ward on her before she pulled the lever – better safe than sorry.

After the gate had opened, we moved cautiously further down the path and soon found some spider nets. T'mara was not afraid or scared, and she had encountered frostbite spiders under the keep in Helgen before; she proceeded to fight them with her daggers. However, when entering a larger cave, with dense spider nets all over the walls and also the ceiling, and hearing a male voice asking us to hurry and help, a giant monster of a spider descended down from its nest under the ceiling – T'mara looked up and rushed back very quickly; if she had been human, she would probably have been very pale.

I had to admit that I had never seen such a huge spider before, and it was easily the size of a big horse. Before thinking much, I cast my most powerful fire spell directly at it, which gave us time for a retreat. As it turned out, the spider was simply too big and could not follow us back into the corridor; we took advantage of that and fired arrows and spells at it from the safety of the hallway, until the spider collapsed. Even Pammy had hesitated to attack the beast directly.

Finally we could turn our attention to the person who wanted to be helped, as he was bound in spider threads. We asked him if he was Arvel, and he confirmed. He promised to share the treasure he was going to find with us, but as soon as he was free, he ran off and laughed. T'mara was getting angry, but I told her that he would have to cope with further dangers on his own, and I did not expect him to survive and find all of the treasure unhindered.

As a matter of fact, three or four rooms further down we heard some commotion and loud shouts, and when we arrived, a group of angry looking draugr surrounded Arvel՚s lifeless body. T'mara had never seen draugr before, and I explained:

"Draugr are undead Nordic warriors of Skyrim. It is believed that draugr once served the Dragon Priests. Draugr are among the most common foes in Skyrim´s many crypts and catacombs, and most of them use ancient Nordic weapons. Fortunately they are quite slow, and you will be safe if you manage to keep your distance, unless you encounter some advanced ones which can also use spells."

As the draugr in the next room were already alerted, we did not have a chance to sneak by, so that I simply sent Jordis and Pammy ahead, to act as a brute force team. They both knew how to fight draugr efficiently, and although Jordis was no fan of magic, she had learned to fight with Pammy on occasions. Once we had cleared that room, we searched Arvel՚s body and actually found the Golden Claw, together with some more loot.

Further ahead, we saw more burial areas ahead with more sleeping dead draugr. I suggested that T'mara might want to try to distinguish the dead ones from the sleeping ones, and hit the supposedly sleeping ones with an arrow while sneaking. As I had given her no simple iron arrows, but Elven ones, one hit was mostly good enough to kill a simple draugr off. This worked well, and the rest of us killed of the few draugr T'mara missed. However, one draugr she hit was obviously a very robust one and was not killed right away; rather, it raised a Nordic Sword and moved towards a surprised Khajiit. Pammy recognized the situation quickly and ran the ancient warrior down.

After passing a waterfall, encountering more draugr – of course – and following a small creek downstream, we could enter the barrow's next section. We could see a larger room with an elevated area, patrolled by yet more draugr. Just around the stairs leading up, there was a large oil slick clearly visible. I suggested to start shooting arrows at the draugr, and once they were alerted and coming down the stairs, I incinerated the oil slick with a quick fire blast. This worked well, and once the fire was started, all remaining draugr in this room perished quickly. After looting the chests here we proceeded, and we soon encountered a closed wall with three concentric rings; the rings had various symbols engraved, and there was a set of small keyholes in the center. I had seen something similar before in other Nordic ruins, but never had a chance to get through them. After thinking for a while, T'mara suggested that this might be related to the Golden Claw. Looking at the artifact in details, we found three small symbols engraved. Soon we agreed that we had to align the three rings in a specific pattern, which can be seen when zooming in on the Claw in the inventory. The correct combination was shown on the palm of the Golden Claw – from top to bottom: 'bear', 'moth', 'owl'. When the rings were correctly aligned, we used the Claw in the middle of the door, and it actually opened.

I told T'mara: "Well done, girl – this is the first time I ever got through a claw protected gate; I do not have a clue what to expect from here on; let's be very cautious". And indeed, while I had seen a few of those special gates with three concentric rings before in other locations, I had never had the means to open then, so that I was somewhat curious, too.

We moved into a quite big cave, with bats flying above us, and some light coming in from holes in the ceiling. Some kind of elevated area was visible further ahead, with a big curved wall in the background showing some symbols in a language unknown to me. Although I did not particularly like caves, I had to admit that some of them were really impressive, and I couldn't help wondering about the Ancients who had bothered to craft the walls, stairs, and platforms. Almost like being under a spell, T'mara started to move towards the curved wall, and she whispered: "Can you see the blue light swirls and hear the chanting from the wall? What is this?". Jordis, Inigo and I looked at each other and confessed that we could neither see a light nor hear a chant, and I started to suspect that T'mara might be going a little crazy. When she was very close to the wall, she fell down on her knees, and it looked like she was interacting with the wall. At the same time, the sarcophagus in the center of the platform opened with a powerful burst, and a very ugly and powerful draugr stepped out, swinging a huge and ancient looking Nordic war axe and proceeding towards T'mara.

As quickly as I could I got my crossbow aimed and fired, Inigo fired an arrow, and Jordis prepared to attack. To my surprise, the draugr did not seem to be hurt much by bolt and arrow; it turned to Jordis and shouted something which sounded like '_FUS_' - this managed to throw Jordis back so that her body hit the wall, and she was out of action for now. I did not really know why a shout should have been able to do something like that, but there was no time to meditate on that issue right now. Knowing that draugr were sensitive to fire, I shot my most powerful fire spell towards the monster and attacked with my greatsword. The draugr pushed back, but I was strong enough to slowly push against it; when Inigo continued to fire arrows and I finally released another fire spell with my free left hand, the draugr was finally defeated.

While T'mara was unhurt and slowly getting back to reality from her encounter with the strange wall, Jordis was still unconscious and bleeding from various parts of her body. I cast my strongest restoration spell, and when she opened her eyes, offered a couple of health potions, which she hastily drank despite the foul taste. Now she was still a little weak, but no longer dangerously hurt. As in similar situations before, I was thankful that I had, during my time at the College of Winterhold, spend significant time and effort to improve my restoration skills for healing myself and others. Working with Colette Marence – who had been happy to work with me, as most students wanted to focus on more 'fancy' stuff like destruction magic – and being taught by her, I had not stopped before I had reached adept level at least. We rested a little, looted the chests, and also found a big stone with carved markings on the boss draugr՚s body; this looked like the 'Dragonstone' Farengar wanted us to retrieve.

When we started to prepare for our way out, and T'mara sighed: "Now, with our two goals achieved, we will have to walk back through the entire barrow, right? Can somebody carry me, please? I am tired and exhausted!" I smiled and told her: "Feel free to rest a little, and I will look around; quite frequently those places have a hidden back door." Fortunately, while I had not visited many of those places yet, I had read many books on them and had some ideas. And indeed, after some searching I found the back door, right up a set of stairs. Naturally, some levers controlling hidden doors and accessible only from the inside prevented anybody from using the back door as entrance. I gave my pack to Inigo and carried T'mara, who was already half asleep, down the hill back to Riverside Lodge, where I asked Jordis to help T'mara getting into bed, as it had been getting dark now. We would return our gained artifacts tomorrow.

Strange, but when I had carried her, I thought I had heard her mumbling something like "This is nice" and "Yes, this feels good" several times – I wondered if I should ask her about it on the next day.

_[Author's Notes: Please kindly post a quick review – thank you!]_


	6. Chapter 6 - Western Watchtower

**Chapter 6: Unexpected revelations at the Western Watchtower**

_[20__th__ of Last Seed 4E 201]_

Next morning, most of us slept a little longer, as we had had quite an exhausting day. Inigo was up a little earlier and prepared breakfast for us, which we all enjoyed; we clearly noticed that we had skipped supper in the evening before. I decided to not talk about T'mara՚s comments when I had carried her home yesterday; this might have been embarrassing for her.

Instead, I mentioned the shout the Boss Draugr had used in the barrow's main chamber and asked for opinions. Once she had completed chewing and swallowing a large piece of cold venison, T'mara said: "It is strange, and I am not sure if I remember correctly, but when I was close to the curved wall in that room, I am sure that saw a swirling blue light and heard some chanting; the wall whispered something which sounded like '_FUS_', too, and it somehow resonated in my head, making me dizzy for a few minutes."

Well, this was odd; I had seen those curved walls before once or twice in some Nordic ruins, and maybe once or twice even in the open, close to a mountain summit, but I had never noticed anything like a whispered word or chanting voices. Jordis also recalled: "When Ulfric killed High King Torygg a few months ago in Solitude, I was there as well. Ulfric used a shout which also sounded like '_FUS_', if I remember properly. That would have been a Thu'um, a Dragon Shout, which Ulfric is known to manage. Is there be a possible connection? But why should a stone wall know about the Thu'um?" None of us had an answer for that question.

Getting a little lost in my thoughts, I moved my left hand to pet Pammy, who I had conjured earlier already, between the ears. I wondered how it might feel to pet T'mara between the ears; her fur must be as soft as Pammy՚s, or maybe softer? Suddenly noticing the direction my thoughts were moving to, I focused my mind on breakfast again, specifically on the bowl with scrambled eggs and delicious sauteed mushrooms right in front of me – I should not allow myself to get distracted like that, and T'mara was neither a cub nor a pet animal.

Before we prepared to leave, I suggested that Jordis should return the Claw to Lucan, while Inigo, T'mara and I were going to deliver the Dragonstone to Farengar – this would save us a detour, and the last few days had been demanding enough. Everybody agreed, we got up from breakfast and crossed the river. Jordis turned south, with the Golden Claw in her pouch, and the two Khajiits and I turned north, towards the city of Whiterun.. This time, no giant interrupted our path, only M'aiq the Liar – whom I had met before a few times – briefly showed up and offered: "M'aiq knows much, and tells some. M'aiq knows many things others do not." Well, wasn't that helpful. I shrugged, being used to his odd comments, but T'mara stared at him with open mouth – to be honest, I guess I needed to ask her if Khajiit preferred the term 'mouth' or 'snout' or something else – for a few minutes after he had already left again, and I could not suppress a grin.

At the city gates, T'mara was recognized by one of the guards, and we were able to quickly proceed up to Dragonsreach and into Farengar՚s study – we, that is just T'mara and myself; Inigo had decided that he wanted to browse the market and do some shopping and sell some of the loot we had from the barrow. We found Farengar involved in conversation with a visitor, and neither of them noticed us right away. While we waited for a proper opportunity to draw attention to ourselves, we picked up a few sentences of what they were talking about:

"You see? The terminology is clearly First Era or even earlier. I'm convinced this is a copy of a much older text. Perhaps dating to just after the Dragon War. If so, I could use this to cross-reference the names with other later texts."

"Good. I'm glad you're making progress. My employers are quite anxious to have some tangible answers."

"Oh, have no fear. The Jarl himself has finally taken an interest, so I'm now able to devote most of my time to this research."

"Time is running, Farengar, don't forget. This isn't some theoretical question. Dragons have come back."

"Yes, yes. Don't worry. Although the chance to see a living dragon up close would be tremendously valuable... Now, let me show you something else I found... very intriguing... I think your employers may be interested as well…"

"You seem to have a visitor, Farengar!"

The court wizard apparently had not noticed us before his visitor had pointed it out. He turned to T'mara:

"Hmm? Ah, yes, the Jarl՚s protege! Back from Bleak Falls Barrow already? You didn't die, it seems."

"No, I did not die" T'mara responded with some annoyance and sarcasm in her voice. She opened her backpack and got out the artifact we had found.

"Ah! The Dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow! Seems you are a cut above the usual brutes the Jarl sends my way. My... associate here will be pleased to see your handiwork. She discovered its location, by means she has so far declined to share with me."

Turning back to his visitor, Farengar added: "So your information was correct after all. And we have our friend here to thank for recovering it for us."

The visitor, with her face mostly covered by a hood, turned towards us and commented: "You went into Bleak Falls Barrow and got that? Nice work." Addressing the court wizard again she added: "Just send me a copy when you've deciphered it."

We, or rather Farengar and his visitor, were not able to proceed with the conversation any further, as Irileth – the Jarl՚s personal housecarl – suddenly ran towards us and claimed:

"Farengar! Farengar, you need to come at once. A dragon's been sighted nearby." Turning to T'mara and me she added: "You two should come as well."

Farengar was quite agitated: "A dragon! How exciting! Where was it seen? What was it doing?"

Irileth was taking up a more serious stance: "I'd take this a bit more seriously if I were you. If a dragon decides to attack Whiterun, I don't know if we can stop it. Let's go."

The Jarl՚s housecarl showed us upstairs to the war room, where we found Jarl Balgruuf the Greater questioning one of the Whiterun guards:

"So, Irileth tells me you came from the western watchtower?"

"Yes, my lord."

Irileth jumped in: "Tell him what you told me. About the dragon."

"Uh... that's right. We saw it coming from the south. It was fast... faster than anything I've ever seen."

The Jarl wanted to know: "What did it do? Was it attacking the watchtower?"

"No, my lord. It was just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my life... I thought it would come after me for sure."

"Good work, son. We'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it. Irileth, you'd better gather some guardsmen and get down there."

"I've already ordered my men to muster near the main gate."

"Good. Don't fail me."

At this point, the Jarl turned towards T'mara and myself, and he suggested that we should join the group and assist Irileth – me, because he knew that I was a capable fighter and his Thane after all, and T'mara, because she had actually seen a dragon before. Although I could see that T'mara had some doubts, we agreed, and I silently vowed to give this girl a long break afterwards.

Farengar saw an opportunity to see a dragon in real life and shouted: "I should come along. I would very much like to see this dragon."

But the Jarl objected: "No. I can't afford to risk you there. I need you here working on ways to defend the city against these dragons."

The Jarl turned his housecarl again: "One last thing, Irileth. This isn't a death or glory mission. I need to know what we're dealing with."

Irileth responded calmly: "Don't worry, my lord. I'm the very soul of caution."

I knew that this response was not exactly truthful, as I had seen the Dunmer fight before, but this was not the time to question her words. We, that is T'mara and myself, Irileth, and a small group of Whiterun guards, left Dragonsreach and met close to the city gates, where we met another detachment of guards. Irileth informed everybody on the situation, we double checked our weapons and armor, and left the city in easterly direction in a hurry. When we arrived at our target location, no dragon was visible, but the watchtower was partially destroyed. Some guards were dead on the ground, and most of them were not pretty to look at.

Irileth commented and ordered: "No signs of any dragon right now, but it sure looks like he's been here. I know it looks bad, but we've got to figure out what happened and if that dragon is still skulking around somewhere. Spread out and look for survivors. We need to know what we're dealing with."

A guard warned: "No! Get back! It's still here somewhere! Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!"

Irileth asked for details: "Guardsman! What happened here? Where's this dragon? Quickly now!"

While she was speaking, a shadow came closer, and a light brown colored dragon was about to swoop down on us.

And she got as a reply: "I don't know! Kynareth save us, here it comes again…"

Irileth shouted: "Here it comes! Find cover and make every arrow count!"

I gave T'mara a hand signal to move into the ruin of the tower with me, which should provide at least some cover. From there, we and some guards shot arrows and bolts at the dragon. Whereas I noticed that the iron arrows used by the guards were not able to penetrate the Dragon scales, this was not the case for T'mara՚s Elven arrows and my crossbow bolts. T'mara found that the link between body and wings seemed to be weak and suggested to aim there. This actually worked, as the dragon seemed to lose control of one wing after some time and went down, almost crashing into the grass across the road.

Some guards approached with their axes, but even on the ground the dragon turned out to be a formidable opponent – it got one guard between its teeth and threw a big fireball against another one. On a hunch, I speculated that a dragon blowing fire might be weak against cold, and I quickly cast my strongest frost ball, which hit its throat just before the next fireball was supposed to come out. This definitely seemed to hurt a lot, and I continued to cast frost spells at the beast.

The dragon, who had mocked us before, got silent, and from the corner of my eye I could see – surprising me completely – T'mara jumping right on the dragon's head. She apparently had borrowed a sword from one of the guards, and through a wound created by one of my crossbow bolts on the side of the head, she rammed the sword in again and again. The dragon called out "Dovahkiin – no!" and was dead.

I was confused in many ways. First, I had not expected her to do something like jumping on the beast՚s head, and second, I thought that I had heard the dragon call her 'Dovahkiin'. According to what I had read in a book some time ago, this was dragon language for 'Dragonborn'. Why should she … I was unable to continue my thoughts, as the dead dragon started to disintegrate into a heap of flames. Was that normal for a dragon? Was it dangerous? After a couple of minutes, the flames were gone and only the skeleton remained; a large colorful whirl assembled over it and moved towards T'mara. The Khajiit girl seemed to absorb it without taking any visible damage, and some of the guards started to talk:

"What was that? Is she Dragonborn?"

"Dragonborn? What are you talking about?"

"But that's right, of course! My grandfather used to tell stories about the Dragonborn. Those born with the Dragon Blood in 'em. Like old Tiber Septim himself."

"I never heard of Tiber Septim killing any dragons."

"There weren't any dragons then, idiot. They're just coming back now for the first time in…, well, almost forever. But the old tales tell of the Dragonborn who could kill dragons and steal their power. Isn't that what the Khajiit just did?"

The guard who had last spoken addressed the Khajiit girl now:

"You must be Dragonborn!"

T'mara was still silent, probably mostly due to being exhausted. Either the fight or the whirl from the dragon or both must have made her tired.

The guard turned towards the Jarl՚s housecarl:

"What do you say Irileth? You're being awfully quiet."

Another guard chimed in:

"Come on, Irileth, tell us, do you believe in this Dragonborn business?"

Irileth looked skeptical: "Hmph. Some of you would be better off keeping quiet than flapping your gums on matters you don't know anything about. Here's a dead dragon, and that's something I definitely understand. Now we know we can kill them. But I don't need some mythical Dragonborn. Someone who can put down a dragon is more than enough for me."

The guard objected: "You wouldn't understand, Housecarl. No offense, but you ain't a Nord."

Irileth responded: "I've been all across Tamriel. I've seen plenty of things just as outlandish as this. I'd advise you all to trust in the strength of your sword arm over tales and legends."

Another guard addressed T'mara now: "If you really are Dragonborn, like the old tales, you aught to be able to Shout. Can you? Have you tried?"

T'mara seemed to hesitate, but finally gave in and shouted: "_FUS_", which resulted in all kind of debris tumbling around as if hit by a small storm. The guard looked excited: "That was Shouting, what you just did! Must be. You really are Dragonborn..."

T'mara – Dragonborn? Was this possible? Suddenly it came to my mind that Akatosh had mentioned a great task for her, but he could not have meant that, or could he?

I could not pursue those thoughts any further, as T'mara fainted, probably due to being totally exhausted, and I just barely succeeded to catch her in my arms.

_[Author's Notes: Although there are a few indications towards a romance, this will take quite some time to develop. Most of this chapter is canon, as it is a critical step forward.]_


	7. Chapter 7 - Thane of Whiterun

**Chapter 7: Thane of Whiterun**

_[20__th__ / 21__st__ of Last Seed 4E 201]_

After talking to Irileth, we decided that I was going to carry T'mara back to Whiterun, have her checked up by Danica Pure-Spring, Whiterun՚s best healer in the temple of Kynareth, and guide her to the Jarl once she was fit and could walk on her own again.

Just before entering the city, a very loud thunder like voice was sounding over the plains, calling out "_DOVAHKIIN!_", or at least I thought that was what it said. I almost dropped my precious load, but managed to catch my balance at the last moment. Fortunately, T'mara woke up when I finally managed to carry her into the temple of Kynareth for an examination by Danica, and it turned out that she was just exhausted and kind of over-excited by recent events, but not really hurt or injured, at least not beyond some scratches and bruises. A couple of hours later she was strong and rested enough again to climb the steps up to Dragonsreach at my side, where the Jarl was already waiting for us, or probably rather her. He asked eagerly:

"So, tell me, what happened out there at the watchtower? Was the dragon there?"

"We found the watchtower partially destroyed, but we encountered and killed the dragon."

"Good – I knew I could count on Irileth. But, there must be more to it than that."

"Indeed, my Jarl, there is more" the Khajiit reported. "The dragon we killed yesterday is not the same one who destroyed Helgen. The dragon at Helgen was black, while the one at the Western Watchtower was brown and much smaller. His name was Mirmulnir, by the way – I could understand the name at least."

The Jarl sighed when he heard that: "So there is more than one dragon. Exactly what we need – not only just one of those beasts, but at least two and maybe more."

T'mara continued: "Also, when the dragon died, the body disintegrated and just left a bare skeleton, and I may have absorbed some kind of power from it."

"So it's true. You are Dragonborn, and the Greybeards really were summoning you."

While I had been in the temple with the Khajiit, the Jarl had already received some initial reports from guards and obviously had an idea about what was going on. He continued to muse: "You know, when I was much younger, I once did the pilgrimage to High Hrothgar, up the 7,000 steps, myself. I almost envy you..."

T'mara got lost a little now: "The Greybeards? High Hrothgar? Summoning me? What is all that about, really?"

I hurried to mention the loud thunder like voice which had boomed across the plains when she had been unconscious, before the Jarl continued to explain:

"The Greybeards are Masters of the Way of the Voice. They live in seclusion high on the slopes of the Throat of the World."

"What do these Greybeards want with me?"

"The Dragonborn is uniquely gifted in the Voice – the ability to focus your vital essence into a Thu'um, or Shout. If you really are Dragonborn, they can teach you how to use your gift. Although we are quite sure about that, they would finally confirm your being the Dragonborn, and I suggest that you make your way there as soon as you can."

After a short conversation between the Jarl and his council, Jarl Balgruuf finally presented a powerful looking and nicely crafted war axe and announced:

"You've done a great service for me and my city, Dragonborn. By my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. It's the greatest honor that is within my power to grant. I assign you Lydia as a personal housecarl, and this weapon from my armory to serve as your badge of office. I'll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now would we? We are honored to have you as Thane of our city, Dragonborn."

I sure hoped that nobody confused her with 'common rabble'. There really wasn't anybody in the city I would have described like this, honestly, but did he have to phrase it like that?

T'mara bowed before the Jarl and politely told him that this was an honor for her, too.

Wow – she was Dragonborn and now also Thane of Whiterun, a title I also carried since a few years ago. I cautiously stepped back a little, and was not so sure any longer about my assigned task to assist her, as Akatosh had wanted me to do. What could I do to assist the Dragonborn, really? I could not use Shouts, and I did not know much about the lore related to dragons and the Dragonborn at all.

However, as soon as her conversation with the Jarl was concluded, T'mara turned around, walked close to me and asked: "Those last few days have been very exciting, demanding and exhausting for me. I think that I need a few days of rest – may I ask you a favor? Can I stay at this nice place Riverside Lodge with you for a few days? I should be able to relax there much better than here in the city."

"Of course, my dear T'mara" I responded, being delighted about that wish of hers. "It would be a pleasure and an honor. If you want, you can take Lydia, your new housecarl, with you. As a matter of fact, she will probably insist to come anyway, not only because she is supposed to as your housecarl, but also as Inigo is going to be there", I added with a smile, hoping that she had not noticed my slip of the tongue calling her 'dear'.

That being said, we picked up Lydia, who was waiting for us close to the door, and strolled towards home – well, my home, that is. While walking, Lydia, being a diligent new housecarl, needed to make sure that her role was understood properly:

"The Jarl has appointed me to be your housecarl. It's an honor to serve you."

"This is good. Maybe you could first explain what being a Thane actually implies? I am kind of new here..."

"The Jarl has recognized you as a person of great importance in the hold. A hero. The title of Thane is an honor, a gift for your service. Guards will know to look the other way, if you let them know who you are."

"I hope that there's not going to be a need for that. I do not intend to start stealing or so. And what is your task as housecarl?"

"I'm sworn to your service, my Thane. I'll guard you, and all you own, with my life. I am also sworn to carry your burdens."

I wondered how long Lydia had practiced to learn those phrases in order to be able to deliver them properly without mixing up the words, but of course I kept those thoughts to myself. The housecarl was about to explain some more, but she was rudely interrupted by a couple of wolves approaching us just before we got to the bridge leading to my home. Pammy prepared to attack and bared her teeth, but Lydia was faster this time and impaled the first wolf with her sword. When she turned around to face the second animal, it decided to quickly retreat, though, and we could proceed to our destination, Riverside Lodge, for a long and well earned supper and rest.

Next morning we had a late breakfast again on the porch. This time I was able to better focus on eating than having my thoughts stray in unwanted directions, and when T'mara asked if we really did not have to do anything today, I gladly confirmed:

"Please feel free to sit here on the porch all day long, look at the rooms in the house, tend the garden, or whatever you prefer. You are my guest, and I am glad that I should be able to help you relax a little. You've lived through some dangerous and exhausting days, and you've earned some rest."

Jordis took care of the dishes, and Lydia and Inigo were mysteriously absent for some time. I took some time to show T'mara around and tell her about the various plants I grew in the small garden attached to the house.

"I would not have expected gardening to be a hobby of yours", T'mara stated.

"You know", I responded, "sometimes I consider it quite relaxing to be at home and be just myself, with nobody to rescue and no quest to get done urgently. Whenever I have a chance, I spend some time here and tend my plants. I'd like top grow more flowers like roses, like one my uncles do. He owns a house in Cyrodiil close to the Imperial City, and the place is called 'Red Rose Manor'. As the name suggests, there are many beautiful roses growing there, most of them red. But most plants around here are used for my dabbling in alchemy, which I like to pursue from time to time."

T'mara was skeptical: "What is alchemy really good for? You stand at a table and mix some ingredients, and sometimes you get a potion – is that really fun?"

I elaborated on the topic: "There's much more behind it. Where do you think the various potions and poisons you can buy at alchemy stores come from? Actually, sometimes I sell some of the potions I create here to Arcadia in Whiterun. I even invested in her shop and arranged a special deal for regular deliveries of healing and stamina potions to the Companions. When they are on a job, having plenty of those potions available can be a life saver, although some of them would not openly admit it."

I learned from T'mara that her family had always looked down at alchemy, and that she never had had a chance to really understand it properly. I certainly was no master in alchemy, but over the years I had increased my proficiency way beyond adept level, and I was already able to recognize and identify three out of possible four of an ingredient's effects on my own. Naturally, I wouldn't mind at all teaching her some of that, if she was interested.

As a final thought I added:

"Above and beyond creating potions, one can also mix poisons. Some of those can be quite helpful if you dip an arrow in them, for instance, like to slow down enemies. I am not good at all yet in creating poisons, and I have a lot to learn, though."

Some time later I decided to let T'mara know more about my visions and task:

"You know, it was not really a coincidence that Inigo and I met you in Riverwood – I was actually waiting for you".

T'mara asked:

"But how could you have known I was going to come down from Helgen at that time? Even I did not know this beforehand!"

"Neither did I, but Akatosh did, and he sent me a vision about you. Well, he did not show your face, but clearly stated place, time, and your name. He told me that I was to assist you in a very important task."

The Khajiit was doubtful:

"So, you only help me because a Divine forces you?"

"Oh no, not at all. He never forced me – rather, he offered the task, and I volunteered, You see, I am financially independent, and I like helping people. Specifically, I consider it an honor whenever I can contribute a little to make Skyrim a better place to live. Akatosh described this in a way which really tempted me, and he promised that I would never regret my decision. Akatosh has been the favorite Divine in my family for centuries, and we trust him."

"Oh, I see. Did Akatosh mention that I am a Khajiit?"

"No, he did not, and I was actually quite surprised about that. Not that I would not like Khajiit or something like that – after all, I have known Inigo for a long time. But, not many Khajiit come to Skyrim. Akatosh only mentioned a 'girl'."

T'mara smirked: "A 'girl'? I am sorry if this is too personal, but this got your attention?"

"Aye, it did. Well, you'll find out about it sooner or later, and Inigo attempts to play matchmaker from time to time anyway. Sometimes I feel alone and look for female company, but I have not had much success finding a female person I can easily talk to and feel happy about it. I can communicate very well with kids, like Carlotta´s daughter Mila in Whiterun, but female adults are … difficult for me, related to anything except professional relations. I mean I can easily talk to Jordis about cooking or fighting, but I would start to stutter if she wanted my advice in love affairs, if you get my meaning."

I was surprised about myself, as I was not normally so open talking to people I hardly knew. Naturally, Inigo knew a lot about me, but he had been my best friend for many years. Somehow I felt like I could open my heart to T'mara.

As a matter of fact, she had noticed: "And yet you seem totally relaxed and happy talking to me about all those things?"

"Well – good point, yes. I do not know why, but this actually seems to be true. Maybe Akatosh put a spell on me enabling me to have proper conversation with you" I joked. "Maybe this is part of my task to assist you – you know, assisting may be difficult without being able to properly talk to each other."

"True!" she laughed, and I suddenly realized that this was the first time I had heard her laughing. My mind whispered that it would be nice to hear this laughter more frequently, and I noticed that I really liked this Khajiit girl. Even more so when I found out that she had, sitting across from me, moved her paw on top of my hand, and I felt some kind of sparkle jumping over between us, a very comfortable sparkle which made me feel good, and which I had not felt before with anyone. What was I getting myself into?

_[Author's Notes: 'Red Rose Manor' is the name of a mod for TES IV Oblivion, by 'Emma' - the same person who owns the 'Vilja' mods for both Oblivion and Skyrim. The place is my favorite house mod in TES IV, and Emma's mods are of very high quality.]_


	8. Chapter 8 - Going to Ivarstead

**Chapter 8: Going to Ivarstead**

_[25__th__ / 26__th__ / 27__th__ of Last Seed 4E 201]_

A few days later, T'mara announced that she was sufficiently rested and relaxed for now, and she asked if we – Inigo, Lydia, Jordis, and myself – would be willing to do some planning together with her. Thus, after breakfast we sat around the porch again, ignoring the light drizzle – the porch had a roof after all – and discussed plans and options for the immediate future.

"You know", I suggested, "visiting the Greybeards, as Jarl Balgruuf the Greater suggested, might be a good start to learn more about what to expect and what being the Dragonborn actually means. We do not know much about them, but the Jarl mentioned that he had done the pilgrimage up to High Hrothgar once, and we might do well to trust his judgment."

"Can somebody tell me how to get there?" the Khajiit girl asked, apparently agreeing with my line of thought.

"Of course, at least for the first part" I responded, spreading my map of Skyrim on the table. "The only way commonly known to get up to High Hrothgar is the path known as the 7,000 steps, and it starts on the northern side of Ivarstead, on the other side of the big mountain. One can travel from here to Ivarstead in one day if one walks quickly, and walking up the mountain takes at least two full days, I have been told. None of us here have ever been up there, though."

"Does anybody know about particular dangers along the way?" she asked.

Inigo replied: "Going to Ivarstead, one needs to cross the mountains, either via Valtheim Towers or via Riverwood and Helgen. Unfortunately, since the Civil War started, roads are not as safe as they used to be, as most Jarls concentrate the guards to protect their cities and have reduced the road patrols significantly. Bandits are now more likely to jump on hapless travelers, and wolves will probably do likewise. We might also encounter the occasional bear, but a bear is likely to attack only if you get too close. Going up the steps, one will soon reach the region of eternal snow, and snow wolves and other beasts may wait there. Sometimes single brave men and women make it to the top, as I heard, but it should be much safer to do the ascent in pairs at least."

I always admired the vast knowledge of Skyrim and its fauna Inigo had accumulated in his years here, and his willingness to share. He must have memorized the essentials of many dozen books, plus absorbed information from many travelers.

Lydia put in: "Let's all go together, and we should be perfectly safe!"

Not fully convinced, I objected: "The Greybeards are supposed to be hermits with few visitors. I do not think it to be polite to show up in a large group. We should not impose on them, and we do not even know if they have proper guest rooms, although they should have at least one as they did call the Dragonborn to them after all."

T'mara pondered this for a few minutes and finally suggested: "We could all travel to Ivarstead together, but I want to go up the mountain together only with Timotheus. With him and his familiar I feel perfectly safe, and the Greybeards should understand that I need at least one companion – it wouldn't be good to have the Dragonborn killed by a pack of wolves after all, would it?".

We all agreed that this was a good idea, although Jordis suggested that she might as well stay here, tend the garden, and harvest some fruit for winter supplies – I gladly granted her permission to stay behind, already looking forward to some of the delicious winter preserves she would be preparing. We spent the day packing supplies and clothes, reviewing our armor and weapons, and preparing ourselves for getting up quite early in the next morning. As I was an early bird anyway, I shouldn't have a problem waking up in time for our demanding trip to Ivarstead and up on the mountain. I should also mention that I had spent some time over the last days – assisted by Lydia and Inigo – to adapt my second set of Dawnguard armor to her size and body, as I thought that a simple leather armor was not good enough for her. I had also asked her about weapons, but she said that she was fine with her Elven bow, the daggers, and the Axe of Whiterun, which turned out to be less heavy than it looked.

We had breakfast before sunrise next morning, and left home when the sky just started to show first signs of light. No clouds were visible, and many stars still dotted the sky; a beautiful aurora also illuminated the area, and we took a few minutes to admire it.

As we had decided to take the southern route, we first walked to Riverwood, passed through the town before anyone was up – except Faendal, who was going for a morning hunt – and turned east at the street crossing in the center of the town. From there, we had a steep climb coming up, taking the winding road up towards Helgen. We passed some mines, picked some flowers, and approached Helgen before noon. We expected to just see ruins, but actually it looked like bandits had taken over or were at least scouting the area for setting up there. However, seeing four well armed travelers, they apparently decided to not bother us and wait for easier prey instead.

Walking in easterly direction from Helgen, we soon approached the Falkreath Stormcloak Camp. For a few septims, they allowed us to rest with them and have lunch together. After a short break, we started moving again, up towards the mountain pass. To be prepared for everything, I conjured Pammy and sent her ahead.

And indeed, once we had reach the highest elevation of the road through the pass and started to descend down to the lowlands again, just before getting to Haemar՚s Shame, Pammy moved quickly towards some bushes and rooted out a group of bandits. Seeing Pammy, about half of them turned towards my trusted familiar, and we quickly decimated the others with bows and my crossbow. Lydia, who was more a fan of close combat, shouted a challenge and used her sword. The other bandits actually managed to 'kill' Pammy, but not before only two of them were left, which we dispersed in mere seconds.

Seeing Pammy defeated, T'mara appeared shocked and close to tears: "Pammy is gone! Why did you allow that to happen? You should have protected her better, and..." – she pounded my chest with her paws – claws retracted, fortunately – and could not continue to speak as tears actually rolled down her cheeks, although this was not clearly visible with her fur. I was moved by seeing her so concerned about my trusted Pahmer familiar, and I needed to resists the temptation to hug and pet her for comfort. Rather I hastened to explain that I could easily conjure Pammy again with no injuries. Only once I had actually demonstrated that, she was calming down. After a short break, we moved on and, coming down into the valley, saw a few deer not far away. Inigo and T'mara each took one down with their bows, and we took the meat with us a gift for the innkeeper.

After that, we managed to get to Ivarstead without further interruptions, an hour or so before sunset – we had made good time after all. T'mara looked at the small town:

"What – this is the start of the 7,000 steps and such a small town? I should have expected a more thriving and larger community, and more visitors!"

I responded: "You know, this is Skyrim and not Cyrodiil, and also it's not like High Hrothgar is a major tourist attraction, I think – but maybe we can get more information from the innkeeper, if there's an inn at all".

I had not been here for a long time, but there was indeed an inn, and it was called 'Vilemyr Inn'. The innkeeper, Wilhelm, was more than happy to take the two deer carcasses from us and promised free dinner as compensation – venison of course. He also offered two rooms with two single beds each, which we claimed right away. Of course I suggested for T'mara to share one room with Lydia and I the other with Inigo, but T'mara objected:

"Timotheus, when we climb up the mountain, there's only going to be the two of us, and we're not going to pack a second tent. We better get used to being close to each other, don't you think so? Also, I feel most comfortable being with you by now..."

I swallowed and wasn't sure if I had heard correctly. Of course she had a point, but was she hinting at something else, too? At my home she had been using one of the guest beds … Soon I gave up to understand this and focused on my extra big serving of venison which was right now provided by Lynly, Wilhelm's barmaid. Her behavior was somehow a little off, and I got the impression that she had not worked as barmaid for very long, but decided not to raise that question with her. Also, the venison dinner was superbly prepared by Wilhelm or whoever helped him in the kitchen, and I was unwilling to get myself distracted from enjoying it.

After dinner we chatted with Wilhelm a little, asking him how many pilgrims would normally climb up the 7,000 steps. He told us that only a handful travelers started each month, but most of them came back on the same day, finding the climb too demanding and long. Only Klimmek, a Nord and resident of Ivarstead, would do the trip regularly once a month or so, delivering supplies for the Greybeards.

As we had had a long walk today, we decided to not start the climb right on the next day, but rather spent a day or so exploring the city and relaxing. Accordingly, we chatted with the inhabitants of Fellstar Farm, north of the inn. Fastred, the farmers՚ grown up daughter, told us that she did not want to be a farmer, but rather considered to run away with her lover. We also talked to Temba Wide-Arm, who ran the local sawmill, and helped out a little with woodcutting. She was not in a good mood and mumbled something about bears at one time. When I asked if she was concerned about something in particular, she told me:

"My business is falling apart, my apprentice never listens to me and now there's talk of dragons. If I hadn't sunk every bit of gold I had into my mill, I would have picked up and left Ivarstead long ago."

When I mentioned that some of us planned to climb up the mountain, she snorted and replied:

"Do what you need to do. From my point of view, the Greybeards stay away from me, and I stay away from them. Suits me just fine."

The rest of the time we just relaxed and took it easy, resisting the temptation to check out Shroud Hearth Barrow, which was supposed to be haunted. However, I told Lydia and Inigo that I wouldn't mind at all if they got bored during our absence and cleared the barrow and maybe took over other quests to help the locals. The two of them would stay here in the town and wait for us, at least for two or three of weeks, as I did not know for how long the Greybeards would want to keep us. Finally, after taking it easy for the rest of the day, T'mara and I decided to start the climb early tomorrow.

The nights before, when we went to bed, we had always found sleep quite quickly without much further conversation. This night, T'mara got close to me, took my hand, and admitted:

"Timotheus, I am so glad that you are with me. I would not be able to do all of this on my own at all, and I really feel comfortable and happy with you – thank you!".

She blew a kiss on my cheek and went back to her bed. I must have been frozen for minutes, as she finally asked:

"What, not tired?"

I could not really tell her that no girl before had used so kind words, and that I felt like I was almost dreaming, so I also put my body in horizontal position and tried to find sleep, which found me soon with disturbing dreams of a Khajiit girl kissing my cheek …

_[Author's Notes: Well, well, what's happening here?]_


	9. Chapter 9 - The seven thousand steps

**Chapter 9: The seven thousand steps**

_[28__th__ / 29__th__ of Last Seed 4E 201]_

Getting up and having breakfast just before sunrise, we – that is, T'mara and I only; as agreed, Lydia and Inigo stayed behind in the town – left the inn and turned towards the bridge. We met Klimmek who had decided to do his monthly delivery today, and he asked: "On your way to High Hrothgar? About to make a delivery up there myself."

T'mara asked, sowing some curiosity: "What types of deliveries do you make to High Hrothgar?"

Klimmek answered: "Mostly food supplies like dried fish and salted meats; you know, things that keep fresh for a long time with all of the ice up there. The Greybeards tend not to get out much, if you catch my meaning."

"And in return?"

"Well, it's kind of an understanding between us. I mean, it just wouldn't feel right to charge them for a bit of preserved food. Trouble is, my legs aren't what they used to be and climbing the 7,000 Steps takes its toll."

I suggested: "We could do it for you this time, if you want."

Klimmek looked surprised: "Really? That would be kind of you. Here, take this bag of supplies. At the top of the steps you'll see the offering chest. Just leave the bag inside and you're done."

I asked: "Is there anything we should watch out for during the climb?"

Klimmek offered: "Well, there's the occasional wolf pack or stray, but that's all I've ever had to deal with. Shouldn't be a problem for the likes of you. Other than that, watch your footing. In the wintry conditions higher up, the stairs can be treacherous and slippery. Be careful up there!"

While I had heard rumors that one might encounter more dangerous animals than a couple of wolves on the way up, I decided not to confront Klimmek with those. Supplied with the latest news, we crossed the bridge and merrily started to ascend the stairs in the early morning, taking our time to enjoy the scenic sunrise. After a couple of turns we encountered a stone tablet with some writing, which T'mara insisted to read:

_I – __Before the birth of men, the Dragons ruled all __Mundus__; Their word was the Voice, and they spoke only for True Needs; For the Voice could blot out the sky and flood the land._

'Mundus' was an ancient name for 'the world', I knew, but a 'Voice' blotting out the sky? Hm, maybe like when the Greybeards summoned the Dragonborn with their thunder like voices? At first, the climb was easy, with the rising sun warming our bodies, and the ground not being slippery at all. Nonetheless I had Pammy walking ahead a few steps all of the time to be safe. We soon found the second stone tablet:

_II – Men were born and spread over the face of Mundus; The Dragons presided over the crawling masses; Men were weak then, and had no Voice._

After a couple of hours the ground was getting wet and a little slippery, and we – Pammy excluded, of course – needed to move more cautiously. Around one tight corner a couple of wolves got surprised by us, but before they had time to decide how to react Pammy disposed of them quickly. A lone pilgrim was in meditation facing the third stone tablet, and she was not very talkative; we read the inscription:

_III – The fledgling spirits of Men were strong in Old Times; Unafraid to war with Dragons and their Voices; But the Dragons only shouted them down and broke their hearts. _

Light snowfall started, and soon a thin layer of snow covered the steps, which made the climb even more treacherous. Soon we were attacked by a couple of blueish cold looking flying beasts, which I could not immediately identify. Both Pammy՚s claws and my bolts were largely ineffective, and we needed to retreat a little. Thinking quickly, I recalled that I had read about Ice Wraiths, and that they were mostly immune to normal weapons, but very sensitive to heat and fire. Thus, I quickly cast a fireball at the two approaching wraiths, and indeed this hurt them. A few more fireballs from both of us finally defeated them, and I explained the nature of the Ice Wraiths to T'mara. We came up to the fourth stone tablet and read it:

_IV – Kyne called on Paarthurnax, who pitied Man; Together they taught Men to use the Voice; Then Dragon War raged, Dragon against Tongue. _

Kyne was short for Kynareth, but we didn't know who or what Paarthurnax was. Getting a little exhausted and tired, we climbed more steps; we already started to feel the air getting thinner, and just before we decided to make camp for the night we found the fifth tablet. Another pilgrim had just finished reading it, and when she heard us approach, she told us that this was as as far as she was going to make it, and turned back towards Ivarstead. T'mara and I read the inscription:

_V – __Man prevailed, shouting Alduin out of the world; Proving for all that their Voice too was strong; Although their sacrifices were many-fold. _

We did not know who 'Alduin' was supposed to be. The first day of climbing ended just below the treeline, and we were able to find a somewhat sheltered place for the night between some poor excuses for trees, more like shrubs, but it would do for one night. We ate our supper from the supplies we had brought with us, and I erected our small tent and put the bedrolls in. Before we went to sleep, I pointed out that we did not need to keep watch, as Pammy, who I had re-conjured just now, would be the best guard we could want; T'mara said that this was just fine with her as she was looking forward to a good sleep – her paws needed rest. The night started easy, and soon I could hear T'mara՚s barely audible snoring, indicating that she had found sleep quickly. Relaxed, I also fell asleep.

Midnight had probably just passed, when I woke up from T'mara turning around and moving closer to me. I actually did not believe that she was fully awake, but she mumbled something like "Getting cold – need you closer – yes, that's good, warmer..." as she gradually moved close enough to me to benefit from some of my body heat, also putting one of her arms around me. I did not really know what to do about this, but decided to let it be and also get to sleep again.

When we woke up next morning at about sunrise, her arm was still around me and she was cuddled against my body in a very tight way, as tight as the two separate bedrolls would allow. I wondered how she would react on waking up, and if she'd blame me for our closeness. A few minutes later she opened her eyes, saw our position, and blushed. I did not know that Khajiit could blush, or at least I would have assumed that a potential blush would be hidden by the facial fur, and it probably actually was, but a 'blush' was still the best way to describe how she appeared to me. She started to stutter: "Oh, I … must have rolled … around in my sleep … by accident...", but did not try to change her position at all. I mentioned that she had probably been getting cold at night and had just wanted to take advantage of my body heat – being tall and strong, I generated much more heat than a small Khajiit girl, after all. She nodded and finally excused herself for a call of nature. Wow, that was certainly interesting, although I did not fully understand it. But at least I didn't get blamed, and this was good enough for now.

On the second day of climbing, we left the treeline behind us and enjoyed great views looking down. Soon we encountered the sixth inscription:

_VI – With roaring Tongues, the Sky-Children conquer; Founding the First Empire with Sword and Voice; Whilst the Dragons withdrew from this World. _

'Roaring tongues'? 'Sky-Children'? Oddly phrased, but 'Dragons withdrew' sounded good. Pammy was scouting ahead, and just before we were about to move along the bottom of some kind of ravine, she got alarmed. Further ahead, we soon saw a massive and dangerous looking white beast, barely visible against the background of snow on the ground and ice on the walls of the ravine, moving quickly towards her, and it looked like Pammy was showing fear, which I had rarely observed. I had not seen such a beast before, but as it was a frost and snow inhabitant, I assumed it to be sensitive to fire as the Ice Wraiths had been. Thus I cast my strongest fireball and hit the beast fully in the chest. A major wound opened and stopped the beast for the moment, but after a few seconds the wound slowly started to close again, and the monster was about to resume its attack. This monster seemed to be able to heal itself!

We quickly decided that we all needed to hit at the same time. T'mara and I cast our strongest fire spells from only about ten steps away, Pammy attacked it from behind, and when it turned around to face Pammy, I drove my fire enchanted greatsword right through the beast's chest, jumping back quickly again. The monster stumbled and slowly turned around, just to be met by more fire spells from me and thrown daggers from T'mara – this finally turned out to be too much, and the beast – which we later learned to be a Frost Troll – fell dead into the snow. Pammy had been defeated again, but I knew that I could conjure her again soon, if I needed to.

Resuming our walk after a break to catch our breath and restore our supply of magicka at least partially – I had spent mine almost entirely – we located the seventh stone tablet:

_VII – The Tongues at Red Mountain went away humbled; Jurgen Windcaller began His Seven Year Meditation; To understand how Strong Voices could fail._

Soon after that, the path opened up again, and a stone building, which we assumed to be High Hrothgar, loomed not too far away; one more hour of walking and climbing should get us there, I estimated. Close to the path we read the eighth inscription:

_VIII – Jurgen Windcaller chose silence and returned; The 17 disputants could not shout Him down; Jurgen the Calm built His home on the Throat of the World._

Again this name 'Jurgen Windcaller'; he must have been an important person. Looking to our left, the view had opened up again, and from our position high up on the mountain, we could look quite far. A few times, when the clouds lifted, we could see Dragonsreach towards the Northeast, looking almost tiny from this altitude. Soon after we found the ninth stone tablet:

_IX – For years all silent, the Greybeards spoke one name; Tiber Septim, stripling then, was summoned to Hrothgar; They blessed and named him Dovahkiin._

What did 'Tiber Septim' have to do with it? And he had been here, too? Fog closed in on us now, but we managed to locate the tenth and final tablet, which was already almost next to the building; just before we got close enough to read it, another Ice Wraith attacked, and while we could defeat it easily enough – this time I was smarter and used my greatsword with fire enchantment together with fireblast spells from my left hand right from the start– we noticed that we were quite exhausted and tired after the two days of climbing. The last inscription read like this:

_X – The Voice is worship; Follow the Inner path; Speak only in True Need._

We dropped Klimmek´s supplies into the collection chest waiting outside and moved up the stairs to knock at the big stone door.

_[Author's Notes: Please write a quick review if you like it!]_


	10. Chapter 10 - First visit High Hrothgar

**Chapter 10: First visit to High Hrothgar**

_[29__th__ of Last Seed – 4__th__ of Hearthfire 4E 201]_

An old man with a grey beard, dressed in dark grey robes with matching boots and hood, presumably one of the Greybeards, opened the door and greeted us: "So... a Dragonborn appears, at this moment in the turning of the age."

T'mara replied: "Good day to you, too. If you are one of the Greybeards, I'm answering your summons."

The assumed Greybeard nodded and suggested: "We will see if you truly have the gift. Please, come in!"

We entered the hall inside the building, and while a few more old men with grey beards, dressed in a similar fashion, kept in the background, the speaker requested:

"Show us, Dragonborn. Let us taste of your Voice!"

T'mara hesitated, as she suspected that her Shout might actually hurt him. The Greybeard noticed her concern and assured her: "Do not be afraid. Your Shout will not harm us."

T'mara shouted '_FUS_' against the Greybeard; he stumbled back a few steps, but seemed indeed to be unhurt.

The Greybeard looked happy: "Dragonborn. It is you, indeed. Welcome to High Hrothgar. I am Master Arngeir. I speak for the Greybeards. Now, tell me, Dragonborn, why have you come here?"

T'mara answered: "I guess that I am supposed to find out what it means to be Dragonborn."

Master Arngeir told her: "We are here to guide you in that pursuit, just as the Greybeards have sought to guide those of the Dragon Blood that came before you."

T'mara noticed the implication and asked: "You mean I'm not the only Dragonborn? There are others, too?"

Master Arngeir explained: "You are not the first. There have been many of the Dragon Blood since Akatosh first bestowed that gift upon mortalkind. Whether you are the only Dragonborn of this age... that is not ours to know. You are the only one that has been revealed thus far. That is all I can say."

T'mara further asked: "But what is my destiny? What am I supposed to do?"

Master Arngeir replied: "That is for you to discover. We can show you the Way, but not your destination."

T'mara pointed out: "I'm ready to learn as much as I can."

Master Arngeir nodded: "You have shown that you are Dragonborn. You have the inborn gift. But do you have the discipline and temperament to follow the path laid out for you? That remains to be seen."

T'mara added: "I brought a companion with me – may I assume that he is welcome here, too?"

Master Arngeir nodded and, with the first greetings and questions done, introduced us to his colleagues, Master Borri, Master Einarth, and Master Wulfgarth. They had meditated so much on the Thu'um that they could barely use normal language any longer – their Voices were too powerful for anyone not trained in the Way of the Voice to withstand, or so we were told. Master Arngeir offered us a guestroom with two beds and a small library, which we accepted thankfully. He understood that we were likely to need some rest after the ascent and suggested to start the Dragonborn training tomorrow.

After breakfast the next day, Master Arngeir called T'mara into the hall and allowed me to watch. He said: "Without training, you have already taken the first steps towards projecting your Voice into a Thu'um, a Shout. Now let us see if you are willing and able to learn. When you Shout, you speak in the language of dragons. Thus, your Dragon Blood gives you an inborn ability to learn Words of Power. All Shouts are made up of three Words of Power. As you master each Word, your Shout will become progressively stronger. Master Einarth will now teach you '_RO_', the second Word in Unrelenting Force. '_RO_' means 'Balance' in the dragon tongue. Combine it with '_FUS_' - 'Force' - to focus your Thu'um more sharply."

Master Einarth shouted: "_RO__..._"

He somehow made some odd pattern appear on the floor, and T'mara seemed to read it. The Greybeards seemed impressed: "You learn a new word like a master... you truly do have the gift. But learning a Word of Power is only the first step... you must unlock its meaning through constant practice in order to use it in a Shout. Well, that is how the rest of us learn Shouts. As Dragonborn, you can absorb a slain dragon's life force and knowledge directly. As part of your initiation, Master Einarth will allow you to tap into his understanding of '_RO_'. Now let us see how quickly you can master your new Thu'um. Use your Unrelenting Force shout to strike the targets as they appear."

Master Borri shouted: "_F__IIK__... L__O__...S__AH__!_", and his shout conjured some kind of floating phantom target in the air, which T'mara quickly hit with '_F__US RO_'.

"Well done. Again."

Master Einarth repeated: "_F__IIK__... L__O__...S__AH__!_"

And T'mara hit it again precisely.

"You learn quickly. Once more."

Master Wulfgar now shouted: "_F__IIK__... L__O__...S__AH__!_"

And yet again the young Khajiit girl managed to oblige.

Master Arngeir was happy with the progress, and he almost smiled: "Impressive. Your Thu'um is precise. You show great promise, Dragonborn. We will perform your next trial in the courtyard. Follow Master Borri."

"Excuse me, Master Arngeir", T'mara objected, "but before we proceed, can we please rest a few minutes. My throat hurts a little, as I am not used to that much shouting!"

"Of course, Dragonborn", Master Arngeir responded, "why don't you get back to your room and first enjoy a hot cup of tea?"

"Indeed, that sound like a wonderful idea" she replied, and I quickly offered to prepare a suitable tea from the herbs we brought with us – after all, I did not have much to do here; although, watching T'mara՚s training was fascinating.

After half an hour and some cups of tea, T'mara was ready to continue, and we all went outside into the building's courtyard, which occupied a large area behind the monastery. There was not much vegetation – no surprise at all at this high elevation – but a few stone pillars and rocks, a small gate which basically opened into nothing, and a set of stairs, protected by some kind of small watchtower, which led up to a fireplace and a stone gate opening up a potential path further up the mountain. Behind that stone gate, a major blizzard seemed to be whirling, and it seemed a little odd that the blizzard was there right behind the gate, but not apparent at all in the courtyard itself.

T'mara learned '_WULD_' (Whirlwind) from Master Borri, which allowed her to move very quickly for a few seconds. They practiced by sprinting through the small gate which Master Borri opened per magic. Actually both of them seemed to have fun practicing this, Master Borri in teaching and demonstrating, and the Khajiit in learning and perfecting. I almost suspected that they tried to outdo each other in sprinting speed and range, as both of them were breathing rapidly some time later.

After a few more days of training and some meditation, Master Arngeir announced: "Your quick mastery of a new Thu'um is... astonishing. I'd heard the stories of the abilities of Dragonborn, but to see it for myself … You are now ready for your last trial. Retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, our founder, from his tomb in the ancient tomb of Ustengrav. Remain true to the Way of the Voice, and you will return."

T'mara added: "I do have a few more questions. Why are the dragons returning? Does it have something to do with me?"

Master Arngeir replied: "No doubt. The appearance of a Dragonborn at this time is not an accident. Your destiny is surely bound up with the return of the dragons. You should focus on honing your Voice, and soon your path will be made clear."

T'mara again asked: "What does it really mean to be 'Dragonborn'?"

Master Arngeir explained: "Dragons have the inborn ability to learn and project their Voice. Dragons also are able to absorb the power of their slain brethren. A few mortals are born with similar abilities – whether a gift or a curse has been a matter of debate down through the centuries. What you have already learned in a few days took even the most gifted of us years to achieve. Some believe that Dragonborn are sent into the world by the gods, at times of great need. We will speak more of that later, when you are ready."

T'mara wasn't sure if she was ever going to be ready, I guessed, but she had a few more questions: "Why are Shouts in the dragon language?"

Master Arngeir elaborated: "Dragons have always been able to Shout. Language is intrinsic to their very being. There is no difference in the dragon tongue between debating and fighting. Shouting comes as naturally to a dragon as breathing, or speaking. In mythic times, when mortalkind was in great need, the goddess Kynareth granted us the ability to speak as dragons do. For most people, long years of training are required to learn even the simplest Shout. But for you, the dragon speech is in your blood, and you learn it almost without effort."

Kynareth was mentioned again. Maybe she was in charge of that Dragonborn business together with Akatosh?

T'mara wanted to know if there were more Greybeards around: "We have only met you and your three colleagues so far. Are there are really only four of you?"

Master Arngeir corrected: "We are five. Our leader, Paarthurnax, lives alone on the peak of the Throat of the World. When your Voice can open the path, you will know you are ready to speak to him."

Paarthurnax had also been mentioned on one of the stone tablets. If he indeed lived close to the peak, he must be a mer or so, I thought, as the tablets looked like they were crafted many centuries ago, exceeding a human's lifetime. However, at least for now, Master Arngeir was not ready to explain in more detail.

T'mara now wanted to learn more about the person with the horn, whose name we had also read on one or two of the stone tablets: "Who was Jurgen Windcaller?"

Master Arngeir responded: "He was a great war leader of the ancient Nords, a master of the Voice, or Tongue. After the disaster at Red Mountain, where the Nord army was annihilated, he spent many years pondering the meaning of that terrible defeat. He finally came to realize that the gods had punished the Nords for their arrogant and blasphemous misuse of the Voice. He was the first to understand that the Voice should be used solely for the glory and worship of the gods, not the glory of men. Jurgen Windcaller's mastery of the Voice eventually overcame all opposition, and the Way of the Voice was born."

T'mara nodded: "I will try to follow the Way of the Voice."

Master Arngeir also nodded: "That is commendable. But remember, the Dragon Blood is itself a gift of Akatosh. Do not try to deny that gift. Your destiny requires you to use your Voice – why else would Akatosh have bestowed this power upon you? If you remember to use your Voice in service to the purpose of Akatosh, you will remain true to the Way."

With those words, the initial training was completed, and we were free to leave High Hrothgar again; as night was close, we decided to start our descent early in the next morning, hoping to be able to reach Ivarstead in one day. Although many questions remained, sleep found us quickly and easily.

_[Author's Notes: The long blocks conversation in High Hrothgar are now done; let's see what the Dragonborn can do with her new knowledge.]_


	11. Chapter 11 - Ivarstead Inn Brawl

**Chapter 11: Ivarstead Inn Brawl**

_[5th - 7th of Hearthfire 4E 201]_

Although the weather did not look very promising, T'mara and I started to walk down the steps before sunrise in the next morning. Strong winds pulled at our cloaks, but we moved steadily and quickly; as usual, I had Pammy scout ahead. While moving my feet, I had a lot of thoughts moving around in my head. After all, I had seen my companion acquire new shouts quickly, learn about some Dragonborn background, and find herself exposed to a very big task. Although the final goal of being Dragonborn had not been revealed (if there was something like that), Master Arngeir had hinted that more information was to be given after the quests in between, and I guess that we had to be patient. It would not do to overload T'mara's brain with too many demands at the same time.

T'mara herself also seemed to be lost in her thoughts, and a few times she could barely avoid stumbling. After a few hours of silent walking, when the howling wind had diminished to a moderate breeze, she finally started to talk: "Timotheus, the Greybeards did not really say much about what I am supposed to do, or have I missed something? They suggested that I 'behave' by following the Way of the Voice and hinted I'd learn more later on, but they did not really say anything about what's ahead of me!"

"Even the Greybeards", I responded, "do not know everything. They probably know about a Dragonborn's capabilities, but not exactly what the Dragonborn is supposed to do, or, more likely, they don't want to reveal everything now. They did mention that your path will become clear later on, and we will need to be patient. Meanwhile, it probably does not hurt to train your various skills to be ready for all eventualities. If you are supposed to fight more dragons, you better be prepared."

"But I will not have to do this alone, I hope" she shouted, "you are going to help, aren't you? I wouldn't know what to do on my own, or at least I'd slip up many times!"

"Indeed, my dear T'mara", I confirmed, "I am going to be with you as long as it takes and as long as you want to have me – you can rely on me!"

She stopped, closed the distance between us, hugged me and planted a hot kiss on my cheek - "Thank you very much – I needed to hear that again, and I definitely want you with me for as long as possible."

With only a few breaks and no Frost Troll this time, we managed to reach the town just after sunset (going down was much quicker than going up, so that we managed the descent in one day rather than two) and quickly entered Wilhelm´s inn. As I had paid for our room in advance for a whole month to be sure, it was still ours. We got a nice dinner, elk steak and cabbage this time, with milk for both of us (Wilhelm grinned, but did not say anything), and asked about Lydia and Inigo. Lynly, the barmaid, knew that they were off helping some town citizens and were only expected back around noon tomorrow; thus, we retired to our room and were soon asleep.

Next day we slept until after sunrise and went to get breakfast. A few sturdy looking Nords has also assembled in the inn´s main room. When we got our meal, again with milk, one of those Nords started to laugh and looked at us. Seeing me and my tall and large body with clearly visible muscles, he hesitated to offend me, but he didn't know that T'mara was with me. He just saw a young Khajiit female drinking milk and eating some pancakes, and blurted: "Hey you Khajiit milk drinker, what are you doing here? Skyrim for the Nords! This inn is for good Nords only!" One could clearly see that the other guests did not really agree with him on all points, but none of them objected or said something. I was about to rise and warn the Nord, but T'mara whispered "Stay – I need to get used to handle those issues on my own". She got up from her seat, approached the offending Nord and told him "Did you just call me a milk drinker? Is there a rule that Khajiit cannot get something to eat in inns? Do you have a problem?" The Nord was surprised to be addressed like this, although T'mara had been quite polite still. The Nord was stressing his point: "Yeah, we don't want a Khajiit here – Skyrim for the Nords! Get out of the inn!".

T'mara looked around and asked "Do you all agree?" Nobody responded, so that T'mara correctly assumed that this was an issue just between him and her. She stated: "What about you show me how urgently you want me out of here? A friendly brawl? I bet that you cannot beat me!"

The Nord laughed, but got ready. He was already quite drunk (what is it with some Nords already getting drunk in the morning?) and not very fast. When his fist swung around and got close to T'mara, she had already moved sideways and pushed the Nord against the bar. He got furious, but repeatedly missed T'mara with his fists. When he lunged after her with his full body, the Khajiit dropped to the floor and swung the Nord above her with her paws, so that the man's head hit the floor with quite some force – he did not get up, but seemed to be dazed, probably having a bad concussion. With the help of a friend he could sit up, but was apparently unable to continue fighting. Wilhelm decided that this was a good time to warn him: "See, this happens when you molest one of my customers. Have your friend get you home, and I do not want to see you here again until you are fully sober. My inn is open for everybody, not just Nords!"

I was glad that Wilhelm was on our side, and I was also glad that T'mara had taken care of the issue on her own. As I would admit to her later, I hated brawls and did a lot to avoid them, if I had a chance.

After that, we got outside and found a nice area, close to the river, for some talking and training. I asked T'mara if there was a particular skill she wanted to train, and she said: "Sooner or later I will want to improve my magic. Right now, I can throw a fireball and do basic restoration, but I also want to be able to conjure a familiar. Maybe also some magical light or enhanced sneaking might be useful, and there are probably many more spells I do not even know about." I confirmed: "Yes, there are. When I was at the College of Winterhold, I was able to learn a lot, and it is a good place for learning. Actually, maybe we should introduce you to the mages there sooner or later; they should be honored to teach the Dragonborn!"

"Do not make fun of me!" T'mara warned me with a scowl.

"I do not", I told her, "most mages there are good friends of mine, and they'd be truly delighted to assist. They will realize the task your are assigned to, and they will help where ever they can. Well, sometimes they will ask for a favor in return, such as retrieving something from a group of bandits or necromancers, but we can always enlist the help of some students there, too."

"Well, if you put it like that, maybe we should go there at some time in the future. I am just unsure if we should first get the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, first train my fighting skills, or first work on my magic?" she asked.

"Not sure either" I responded. "However, maybe you are more sure of yourself once you had at least some more fighting and magic training. What about we first introduce you to Kodlak and you strive to become a Companion? If this works, let's spend some time with them, and move to Winterhold or get the Horn next? I will be with you for all of that, of course!"

"All right", she agreed happily. Just when we had reached that conclusion, Lydia and Inigo returned and found us. It turned out that they had helped various citizens with something and were certainly not getting bored. We provided a summary of our time up in High Hrothgar and what we had just decided, and as it was getting late, enjoyed one more night at the inn, to return to Riverside Lodge on the next day. Before getting to bed, I got another kiss on the cheek and a quick hug, which she explained by being happy about our next plans at least.

For traveling back to the Whiterun area, we decided to take the northern route this time. Lydia happened to know that a high bounty was set on the bandits at 'Valtheim Towers', and we could as well earn this money. Thus, the first sun rays found us leaving Ivarstead in northern direction. We followed the path along the river and the rapids and found the main road further down, close to 'Fort Amol'. We did not know who was currently occupying the fort, and as we planned to focus our effort on Valtheim, we sneaked around the fort and followed the road. After crossing the river on the next bridge, the road ascended again until we had almost reached Valtheim Towers. Carefully looking around the last corner we noticed one bandit lurking close to the watchtower entrance, at least one more inside, another one on the connecting overpass between the towers, and at least another one on the other side of the river – this was not going to be a walk in the park. As I had the weapon with the longest range, I suggested that I'd climb onto the rocks on the left side of the road, so that I could start sniping at the bandits in the open; I would also try to gain a position to target every bandit brave enough to cross the bridge via the connecting overpass, while the others could clear the tower on this side and then the one on the other side, assisted by Pammy. Everybody agreed, and I started climbing, outside of the tower´s viewing range. After about twenty minutes of sweating, I had reached a good position, rested for a couple of minutes, and raised my crossbow.

The bandit who stood close to the tower entrance on the other side seemed to be out of view from the others, so that I took him down first. The one which was barely visible close to the top on the other side's tower followed, and then the one walking slowly along the connecting overpass. The last one was falling down into the river with a shout, which finally got the other bandits' attention. However, they assumed an attack from the other side and looked into the wrong direction – this situation was immediately exploited by Inigo, Lydia, T'mara and Pammy, rushing into the southern tower after eliminating the bandit waiting outside. There must have been some fighting, but I was too far away to hear much.

After a couple of minutes T'mara appeared at the tower´s top platform and waved in my direction – I waved back and smiled. T'mara decided to stay there with her bow, and Inigo and Lydia followed Pammy running across the overpass to the other side. I had my crossbow ready, so that when the next bandit appeared at the tower door leading to the overpass on the north side, I could immediately send a bolt in his direction; the next one was caught by one of T'mara´s arrows. Pammy was now already entering the northern tower, with Lydia and Inigo not far behind. I noticed another bandit about to enter the tower from outside and cut him down before he was out of sight.

Ten minutes later we all met at the southern tower´s entrance and dropped all of the collected loot in a heap. We were quite certain that we had eliminated all bandits, and one of them had indeed been a tough bandit chief with high value armor and weapons; Lydia was proud to tell that she had defeated him in close combat (not without sustaining a few injuries, of course, but a healing potion easily helped with those).

A happy but tired party walked down to Whiterun, looking forward to a few days of rest. At the crossroads we separated – Inigo and Lydia took most of the loot and were to collect the bounty, whereas T'mara and I would rest for a few days in Riverside Lodge.


	12. Chapter 12 - The Companions beckon

[Author's Notes: For getting accepted by the Companions, this chapter has some canon dialogue mixed in again. Starting with the next chapter, there will be less canon content and more improvised story and dialogue]

**Chapter 12 - The Companions beckon**

_[11th - 30th of Hearthfire 4E 201]_

A few days after we had arrived back at Riverside Lodge we – T'mara and I – decided that it was time to meet Kodlak Whitemane, the Harbinger of the Companions. After entering the city gates – T'mara was now a Thane, as I was, and the guards did indeed recognize her – the young Khajiit paused for a few moments, as this was the first time she actually could afford to look around without a pressing task or danger. The city presented itself with bright sunshine and merry citizens. I introduced her to Adrienne, the Imperial blacksmith, who was working at her grindstone, and her husband Ulfberth inside Warmaidens, and we exchanged a few words with them. We passed Breezehome, a small house adjacent to Warmaidens, which had been unoccupied for quite some time, and slowly proceeded towards the marketplace. Mila saw me and jumped into my arms immediately, which made T'mara raise a brow and look at me curiously. I told her that Mila was Carlotta Valencia's daughter and a very good friend of mine, but that we were not related. The Khajiit smiled seeing how kindly we treated each other. Of course, we also had a chat with Carlotta and bought a few fresh apples from her.

Leading her the steps up from the marketplace to the Wind district, we greeted Danica, who was resting on a bench in front of the healing hall, and T'mara's view moved towards the magnificent tree which dominated the city's wind district – Gildergreen. East of the tree, our view was then captured by the upturned boat, which formed the roof of Jorrvaskr, the home of the Companions. Going by the description I had given her, the Khajiit was able to recognize the building for what it was, and she grabbed my arm pulling me towards it. Stepping inside, once our eyes had adapted to the lower light level, we couldn't avoid seeing Njada and Athis being in a brawl and insulting each other – well, what was new about that. I heard Skjor mumbling mostly to himself: "Are these two at it again?", before I quickly guided T'mara down the stairs to the living area and along the aisle to Kodlak´s rooms.

The white haired Harbinger was not alone, however, and we could hear him talking to Vilkas, the Companion's Master at Arms and one of their best warriors, but he turned to us as soon as he saw us. I explained why I had brought T'mara with me (without mentioning anything about my vision and the Dragonborn business for now – T'mara's background in Helgen and herself becoming Dragonborn had not really become public knowledge yet) and he addressed her: "A stranger comes to our hall."

T'mara stepped forward and stated: "I would like to join the Companions."

Kodlak looked at her, raising his eyebrows: "Would you now? Here, let me have a look at you. Hm. Yes, perhaps. A certain strength of spirit – How are you in a battle, girl?"

T'mara admitted: "I have much to learn."

Kodlak liked that: "That's the spirit. Vilkas, here, will get started on that."

Vilkas could not believe it: "Master, you're not truly considering accepting her?"

Kodlak shook his head: "I am nobody's master, Vilkas. And last I checked, we had some empty beds in Jorrvaskr for those with a fire burning in their hearts."

Vilkas replied: "Apologies. But perhaps this isn't the time. I've never even heard of this outsider."

My fellow companions must have missed her recognition as Thane or ignored it, or maybe this was just Vilkas' way of looking tough, as usual.

Kodlak stated: "Sometimes the famous come to us. Sometimes men and women come to us to seek their fame. It makes no difference. What matters is their heart."

Vilkas added: "And their arm."

Kodlak suggested: "Right – Vilkas, take her out to the yard and see what she can do."

Vilkas nodded: "Aye."

And Vilkas, apparently not seeing a purpose behind testing a Khajiit girl, reluctantly lead T'mara up into the training yard for testing. As expected, most companions came to watch, as it was always exciting to see a newcomer being tested; I also thought I saw some some of them collecting bets, most of them on Vilkas (to be honest, T'mara did not look like a capable fighter on first glance) – this did not really make a lot of sense, because those tests frequently did not provide a clear winner.

Vilkas encouraged T'mara: "The old man said to have a look at you, so let's do this. Just have a few swings at me so I can see your form. Don't worry, I can take it."

Vilkas clearly was much stronger than T'mara, but she was more agile and thus could avoid being hit almost all of the time. A few times, Vilkas managed to hit her either with his shield or with the flat side of his sword, and T'mara almost went down. On the other hand, a couple of times T'mara managed to get behind the warrior and kick him in the legs, which made Vilkas stumble.

Soon Vilkas declared the testing to be over and announced: "Not bad. Next time won't be so easy. You might just make it. But for now, you're still a whelp to us, new blood. So you do what we tell you. Here's my sword. Go take it up to Eorlund to have it sharpened. And be careful, it's probably worth more than you are."

T'mara looked at me and almost could not believe it: "Is he serious? He thinks that his sword is more valuable than me? And I am supposed to be his errand girl now?" I comforted her and said: "Do not worry about what he said – Vilkas does not really think what he says, but he rather wants to test your character and patience, too. And doing some errands is something which is typically asked from whelps, as we call the new applicants."

She still did not look happy, but asks: "Does this mean that I am a Companion now?"

"Well, not quite yet", I responded. "First, you will have to prove yourself in a few tasks and quests, and eventually you might get formally recognized as Companion"

"So, for now, I guess that I will need to deliver the sword to Eorlund", she admitted, "by the way, who is that?"

"He is the Companions' blacksmith", I told her, "and you will find him working at the Skyforge during most of the day, up the stairs right over there – why don't you walk up and introduce yourself?"

She still looked confused, but started up the stairs to the Skyforge, where I soon lost sight of her. I turned around to Vilkas, and he asked: "Where did you pick up this Khajiit girl, shield brother?" Sighing, I replied: "We met in Riverwood. She came walking into town together with a Stormcloak captain, and both of them were injured and exhausted. As she wants to improve her fighting skills, I suggested that she talk to Kodlak. There is actually much more to the story, but it is not mine to tell." He looked at me again and admitted: "It really is a pity that you refused to join the Circle – you would have made a worthy Circle member!" I reply: "Yes, Vilkas, I can understand that you think that, but I came to understand that being a member of the Circle not only requires good body skills, but also full commitment to the tasks of the Companions, staying here in Jorrvaskr most of the time, and spending my time also with whelp training and such. While I do not mind doing that from time to time, I am not ready for a full time commitment like this." He nods and says "Aye – you had mentioned this before. Let me know if you ever change your mind."

This being said, we saw T'mara coming down the stairs again, minus Vilkas' sword, but carrying a shield now. Vilkas face changed from friendly to scowling immediately (I knew that this was part of the farce for whelps) and he bellowed at T'mara asking her if she had delivered his sword to Eorlund. She confirmed and added that she was now supposed to deliver a shield to Aela, and where Aela could be found – Vilkas just pointed at the mead hall behind him, and T'mara went in.

Later in the day I heard that Aela had been much more friendly than Vilkas. She remembered T'mara from the fight against the giant, and she was almost enthusiastic about a new Khajiit whelp. I guess that T'mara had found a friend here after all.

Farkas was called upon to show T'mara where she could sleep, and there obviously was a free bed right next to Ria, who was also very friendly, as opposed to Njada, which did not surprise me at all. Well, companions.

Seeing that T'mara was taken care of for now, I said Good Bye and left her for some training; I would check on her progress a few days later. With her taken care of for now, I asked for a private audience with Kodlak, and in the privacy of his rooms I told him the entire story, starting from my vision, the events in Helgen, our getting together, our finding out that she's Dragonborn, and our visit to High Hrothgar. As Harbinger of the Companions he had a right to know, and it should be his decision if and when to inform other Companions. Kodlak nodded and told me that he had suspected a few facts already, but that it was helpful to learn the full story. He promised to do his part and have training provided to the Khajiit.

Of course, I was kept informed on T'mara´s training progress by some shield siblings, but I had some leisure to pursue other business, which I had neglected for some time. After running a few more errands and doing minor quests, a couple of weeks later she was asked to go on her Companion initiation quest. "Last week a scholar came to us. He said he knew where we could find another fragment of Wuuthrad. He seemed a fool to me, but if he's right, the honor of the Companions demands that we seek it out", Vilkas told me. He mentioned that this was a good opportunity for T'mara to prove herself, and she would go to Dustman´s Cairn together with Farkas.

Naturally, having been a Companion for more than five years, I knew about Wuuthrad. The fragments of Ysgramor´s blade were split to various locations by the Silver Hand, old enemies of the Companions, and some of my friends hoped to be able to collect all fragments and reforge the blade on one future day, for more glory. I suspected that there was more behind it but the Circle would not tell, though.

I was getting a little worried about the Khajiit girl, but I knew that Farkas was a very capable companion and fighter, and they should be safe together. Nonetheless I got a little antsy waiting for them to get back, which we expected to happen three or four days later.

Around noon on the fourth day, they indeed returned. Looking at their faces, I could already see that their task had been a little more challenging than expected, and they both looked ready for bath and bed. Neither of them seemed to be in the mood for talking, so that I left and decided to come back on the next day.

Mid morning, I found some companions and T'mara sitting in the mead hall having breakfast. I asked T'mara if she wanted to walk outside with me for some time to talk, and she agreed, and we took a seat on a bench below the Gildergreen, with the tree´s leaves whispering above our heads. After a few minutes of silence, she started to recount: "The cairn was quite scary, and I am not sure if I liked the draugr or the Silver Hand less. In the last room, the draugr almost overwhelmed us, there were so many of them; if it wasn't for Farkas superior fighting skills and his handling of the greatsword … By the way, I found another wall which taught me a word, seemingly related to Fire, but I have not been able to shout it yet. And, Farkas, when we were surrounded by too many Silver Hands, he … oh, I do not think that I am supposed to talk about it – forget it".

I had a guess though, as I knew that some Companions, probably all of the Circle, were werewolves, and offered: "Farkas transformed?" She looked surprised: "How would you know that Farkas is a werewolf?" I replied: "I learned about this some time ago from many small hints and observations. This secret is not quite as little known as they hope for, I am afraid… – Were you afraid of him?" T'mara hesitated to answer: "Well, more like startled and confused. But he was on the other side of a closed gate, and I could see that it was still Farkas, somehow, probably by the smell." And she added: "Some companions call Farkas 'Icebrain' for fun, but this is not really justified; I think that he is smarter than he looks!"

In the evening, we were all called to the training yard behind Jorrvaskr, and Kodlak announced with firm voice that they were now going to formally accept T'mara as Companion and the ceremony would be run by the Circle, so that I had to stand back and watch.

Kodlak started: "Brothers and sisters of the Circle, today we welcome a new soul into our mortal fold. This woman has endured, has challenged, and has shown her valor. Who will speak for her?"

Farkas stated: "I stand witness to the courage of the soul before us."

Kodlak asked: "Would you raise your shield in her defense?"

Farkas confirmed: "I would stand at her back, that the world might never overtake us."

Kodlak asked again: "And would you raise your sword in her honor?"

Farkas confirmed again: "It stands ready to meet the blood of her foes."

Kodlak asked the third question: "And would you raise a mug in her name?"

Farkas confirmed once more: "I would lead the song of triumph as our mead hall reveled in her stories."

Kodlak announced: "Then the judgment of this Circle is complete. Her heart beats with fury and courage that have united the Companions since the days of the distant green summers. Let it beat with ours, that the mountains may echo and our enemies may tremble at the call."

Aela shouted: "It shall be so."

Skjor shouted as well: "It shall be so."

And finally Vilkas chimed in: "It shall be so."

T'mara beamed and whispered to me "That was wonderful! The only part I did not like that much was the idea of raising mugs – they're drinking way too much here!" I had to agree, and this was actually one of the reasons I did not want to live in Jorrvaskr all of the time. According to them, with my distaste for mead, ale, and wine, I wasn't a real Nord, at least in that respect.


	13. Chapter 13 - Breezehome

[Author's Notes: As promised, this is a very individual and non-canon chapter. Enjoy!]

**Chapter 13: Breezehome**

_[1st - 17th of Frostfall 4E 201]_

T'mara continued to go on quests with one of her shield brothers and sisters, preferably with Farkas or Aela, it would seem, and of course sometimes with me. She also got regular training in all kind of weapons, and she particularly loved to improve her marksmanship skill together with Aela. From her first real bounty reward she bought a better bow, a beautifully carved Glass bow, which made her quite happy, it seemed.

A couple of weeks later, when we chatted about this and that, T'mara mentioned that sleeping in the Jorrvaskr whelp quarters did not work too well for her. She was not a deep sleeper; drunk companions loudly coming down the steps late in the night frequently kept her awake, and the strong mead smell which penetrated the rooms in Jorrvaskr almost all of the time made her sick. "I know that you offered a guest bed in Riverside Lodge for me whenever I wanted", she said, "but this is just too far from here if I am supposed to be ready for a training at sunrise! I could get a room at the Bannered Mare, I guess, and Hulda is a nice and kind person. But it would be also good to have a place where I can store some of my belongings. I just do not know what to do!"

"Hm, I see, and I certainly understand your point about the noise level and smell in Jorrvaskr. Yes, you could get a room in an inn, but let's try to find something better – let me think about it."

I knew about a small house (Breezehome) being offered for sale, and I had more than enough septims to buy it and have it fully furnished. Breezehome was located in the Plains district, so that one needed to walk for a few minutes to get to Jorrvaskr from there, but that should not be an issue. I decided to have a look at the house as soon as possible. Right after sending T'mara away for her next hunting trip with Aela (they wanted to go for a saber cat this time!), I went up to Dragonsreach and started questioning Proventus Avenicci, the Jarl´s steward: "Proventus, say, is Breezehome still available for purchase?" He confirmed and told me the price, which was quite reasonable. He also offered to have it fully furnished within less than a week, if I payed up front. I agreed and quickly brought up enough money from my chest in Jorrvaskr; Proventus was ready and handed me the deed.

I had never thought about buying Breezehome before, as I usually either slept in Jorrvaskr, where I had a bed for free, or (preferred) in my home Riverside Lodge. However, T'mara was right, and Riverside Lodge really was too far to get here early for training and such – I was looking forward to see her face when she found out about the house I had bought.

And indeed, as promised by Proventus, within five day I was told that Breezehome was ready for me, and I got the keys. I almost ran to Jorrvaskr and found T'mara sitting on the back porch, relaxing from a sword training with Vilkas. I suggested to go for a walk to show her something, and she readily agreed. Thus we went down to the Plains District, and the Khajiit probably assumed we were going to visit Adrienne, when I stopped at Breezehome and got my keys out. I unlocked the door and waved her in: "Why don't we have a look and find out what's inside here?"

She was stopped cold for a moment, and then stepped inside. Breezehome was quite a small and cozy house, but the upper floor had a reasonable master bedroom with a single large bed, and a smaller bedroom which could be used for a housecarl, all upstairs. The ground floor was all living room and open kitchen plus dining area and a few shelves, and there was an alchemy lab tugged into a corner. Outside there was small garden around the house, with some flowers.

Without saying a word, she wandered through all rooms and the garden, taking her time. Finally she asked: "Who is the owner of this house?" And I replied: "Now I am, and I grant you the right to sleep here whenever you want." She almost could not believe it, but suddenly she jumped on my hips and kissed me full on the mouth (although it was not much more than a butterfly kiss), purring with joy. Of course, after a few seconds she realized what she had done and stepped back; it looked like she was blushing again: "Sorry, sorry, sorry – I don't know what came over me, I am not usually that forward, and I did not mean to ...". I comforted here: "Well, if you are talking about the hug and the kiss, there is not reason to apologize at all – I rather liked that!" And she blushed even more and turned her back to me, starting to cry. I got confused – why was there suddenly a reason to cry? Between her sobs, she started to explain "I am crying tears of joy ... nobody has been that nice to me since my parents … I do not deserve all of this … I am so happy ..." I am not sure I fully understood, but if she was happy, it seemed to be all right.

We went upstairs together to have a closer look at the two rooms there. I offered: "I usually sleep in Riverside Lodge anyway, so why don't you claim the big bedroom for you?" She objected: "But this is your house! You should have the big room, and besides, you are so tall, you will need the big bed!" She had a point here. But T'mara was not finished yet: "Also, well, do you recall when we traveled the 7,000 steps up to High Hrothgar and slept in one tent?" When I nodded, she continued: "I rather liked that, sleeping right next to you, and I was hoping, that … maybe we could do this also here and share the big bed." She had completed her sentence looking away from me, and I assumed that it was not easy for her to talk about it. I responded: "Well, now as you mention it, I enjoyed that, too, and if you really want, let's try to find out if we can do the same here."

We decided that we wanted to spend the next night in Breezehome, and together we went to the marketplace to buy some supplies and various utensils which we wanted to have. I was a reasonable cook, and I prepared venison stew and some cabbage in our small kitchen for dinner. After eating, we browsed through the few books already placed on the bookshelf, tended the garden, and finally went to bed. T'mara stretched her body beside me, started to purr, claimed my arm as pillow, and was soon asleep, soon followed my me.

Next morning, I woke up first and found that T'mara had again rolled over; she now had her head on my chest and one of her arms across my upper body. Also, one of my arms was draped around her back, holding her tightly. Realizing our position, I thought for a moment that this was a very nice way to wake up, so much nicer than being on my own, and I started to gently move my hand through her fur. She started to purr again and slowly woke up. Even with eyes open, she smiled and seemed to enjoy the situation and my hand in her fur seemed to provide some nice feeling for her. She tightened her arm around my chest and started a serious hug, when she suddenly realized what we were doing. She tried to jump up but could not, as she was enclosed by my arm. "Good morning T'mara", I greeted her, "there's no reason to be alarmed. You had rolled over in your sleep, and I am holding you to make sure that you do not drop out of the bed by accident. Also, just a moment ago you purred when I moved my hand through your fur, so don't even try to claim you do not like it".

T'mara kind of meowed "Yes, but this is not right – I should not impose on you like this … but please don't stop ...". Gently I replied: "T'mara, you are not imposing, and neither do you take advantage of me. It seems that we both enjoy being together and touch each other, and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with it at all. Besides, I really like having you so close to me."

She purred again and closed her eyes, seemingly either running out of arguments or not wanting to argue any more; this was just fine for me.

Half an hour later, at breakfast, she looked very happy and smiled, and looked eager to start her day's work, this time going for a small quest together with Athis, for a change. She asked if we could meet here in the evening again, and I gladly agreed.

We sat together again for dinner in Breezehome, and she seemed somewhat disturbed. "What troubles you, T'mara", I asked her. "Any problems with your today's quest?" She hesitantly replied: "No, no, the quest was easy, and Athis is really a competent and well educated shield brother. No, I was talking to Ria in Jorrvaskr after the quest and told her about our new home. I may have mentioned that we slept in the same bed, and Ria started to make fun of me, can you believe me? She asked if sleeping had been all we did, and how I liked your body, and such things. Why would she be that curious? Is there something wrong about sharing a bed with somebody whose company you enjoy?"

Oh, wow, I should have expected that. Of course other Companions, and specifically some shield sisters, would assume that something more happened. It was not really their business, but it was common for such a community to participate in your friend's life, be happy with them whenever possible, but also share grief when required. And, quite commonly, when a man and a woman in Skyrim shared a bed, certain implications were almost expected. I have to admit that I was not experienced at all in those things, as I was quite shy dealing with girls, but I found talking to T'mara and having her so close to me was surprisingly easy and comfortable, and I seemed to have some real feelings for her.

But I needed to try to explain: "You see, T'mara, Skyrim is a harsh country with many dangers. Too many citizens die in a fight or become prey to a predator rather than getting old, and many Skyrim inhabitants, in particular Nords, try to enjoy life while they can. Ria is an Imperial and not a Nord, but she knows about that quite well, and I am a Nord after all. Anyway, when a man and a woman in Skyrim share a bed for the night, expecting something else but sleeping seems to be a justified assumption, and this else is something a couple does usually with clothes off" (I did not want to get into more details, really, and I somehow felt quite embarrassed to talk about it). T'mara looked at me and suddenly seemed to understand: "Oh, Ria assumed that we would have … that we would do what a man and a women do to get a baby?" I confirmed: "Yes, probably." T'mara started to laugh, but suddenly stopped again: "One does not get a baby by hugging and kissing, right?"

"No", I assured her, "there is more than that. Have your parents or siblings not told you about all this?" She shook her head: "No, while I heard some rumors from other cubs, my parents never got to educate me in this respect, and I do not have siblings."

I felt completely out of my league, and I certainly was not ready to be a teacher in body functions to a pretty Khajiit girl; I needed to talk to Inigo about this and get help – quickly.

Next day I was able to talk to Inigo, and he quickly understood. "My friend and Thane", he told me, "young in their teenage years Khajiit do not accept guidance on their body and their behavior from just anybody. As her parents are not available and she does not have a close relative, only somebody she dearly likes will be able to guide her, and by what you told me, that's going to be you!" I replied: "I cannot do this! I do not even really know what is special for Khajiit, and …" Inigo calmly said: "With that I can help a little; let's have a look at some of my books". And thus we had a very embarrassing session, which was not really encouraging me. But Inigo stressed his point that T'mara would only be willing to learn with me and from me, and that I needed be ready for this. "But what do I do if she jumps on me and tries to tear my clothes away?" I wanted to know. Inigo laughed and stated: "Get more sturdy clothes. But, honestly, try to keep some clothes on until you are sure that she is ready". I was not happy yet: "But anything like that should be done by married couples only!" Inigo shook his head: "That's the way you were educated, right? Okay, no problem here in Skyrim, start to search for an amulet of Mara!" I was finally silent, running out of arguments. Did T'mara actually know what an amulet of Mara implied? Was I ready to get married, and was she? Did she even know what to expect from being married? And, at least equally important, did I know? All of those questions seemed to be much more difficult for me than a huge bandit lair, and I started to get headaches.

I was getting ahead of myself anyway. T'mara was an amazing and beautiful Khajiit girl, but she wouldn't want to marry me for sure; she just wanted my company for protection, and maybe tolerated the occasional hug and touch. That was all right, wasn't it?


	14. Chapter 14 - Disappointment in Ustengrav

**Chapter 14: Disappointment in Ustengrav**

_[20th - 23rd of Frostfall 4E 201]_

A few days later we discussed what to do next, and I mentioned that we could either move to Winterhold for some time or collect the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller in Ustengrav.

As we had kept the Greybeards waiting for a few months already and T'mara had gained valuable training from the Companions, we decided to head towards Ustengrav, northeast of Morthal. Knowing that it would be dangerous to travel there and to investigate the tomb, we agreed that Lydia, Inigo, T'mara and I would all go together, and we were off soon on a bright and sunny morning. Traveling north from Whiterun, we first walked through the plains of Whiterun hold. Inigo and I picked a few flowers and caught butterflies, and when we also harvested some stray wheat from one of the farms, T'mara looked at us and asked why we would do this. I noticed that I had never explained alchemy to her, and thus I did so now: "Flowers, butterflies, and other plants and animal residue are ingredients for potions and poisons. For instance, one can brew a simple potion of 'Restore Health' by mixing wheat and blue mountain flower; I always try to get lots of both and keep my apothecary satchel filled. Of course, one can also buy the potions in stores, but I like to try my hand at alchemy myself".

T'mara admitted that she had seen similar things been done in Elsweyr, too, but with different ingredients, naturally. She had never dabbled in alchemy herself, but now felt tempted to start, and I suggested that we could practice when we were back, as I had an alchemy table and many supplies in Riverside Lodge.

After Loreius Farm it got colder, and soon the road was lightly covered by snow. As if this was not enough, we suddenly heard some crawling noises, and three frostbite spiders approached. Inigo had his ebony bow out in no time and shot three arrows into the first one, which was more than what it could take. I cast my fireball into the other ones, and Lydia looked a little disappointed that there was nothing left to do for her. As if to prove her wrong, a Frost Troll stepped out of the trees; Lydia readied sword and shield and attacked, simultaneously mocking the beast like "Coming here was the last mistake you'll ever make!" (I wondered if the Frost Troll understood that?). In order to avoid that it was Lydia's last mistake ever, rather then the troll's, I supported her with my fire enchanted greatsword from the other side, and soon the troll was wounded beyond recovery. Lydia was wounded, too, but my restoration spell quickly rectified that. Lydia, as a typical Nord, did not really approve getting healed with magic, but T'mara and I had explained that it was one of her housecarl burdens to accept that.

Coming to the road intersection southwest of 'Silverdrift Lair' we turned left, in westerly direction. An hour or so later, we could see the big walls of 'Fort Dunstad' before us. In those times we could not expect forts to occupied by friendly guards, but suspected this to be a bandit lair. In order to avoid trouble here, we decided to circumvent the fort and detour east, following a winding mountain path close to 'Duskglow Crevice'. After encountering a couple of ice wraiths and a big bear, we accelerated our speed and just managed to reach Dawnstar, capital of Whiteshore hold, before sunset. Compared to places like Whiterun or Solitude, Dawnstar wasn't much of a hold capital. It was surrounded by a poor excuse of a wall, and few guards were to be seen. But there was an inn, and we were able to claim two rooms.

Getting worried about who was going to share a room with who was no longer an issue; it seemed to be clear without mentioning that Inigo shared with Lydia and I shared with T'mara, and Inigo once or twice blinked at me during supper. Our rooms were next to each other and the walls quite thin. In the middle of the night T'mara woke me and asked about strange noises coming from the next room: "I am sure that this is from Inigo´s and Lydia´s room – Lydia sounds like she is hurt or sick; shouldn't we make sure that they're all right?" Realizing what the noises were, I soothed the Khajiit girl: "No, I am quite sure that they are okay. Actually, I believe that the noises are more grown out of enjoying something, rather then being hurt. I you want to embarrass the two of them, ask them about it at breakfast tomorrow." After some thinking, she seemed to understand, blushed (so I assumed, because it was too dark to clearly see that), and turned around, mumbling something which I could not understand (and probably was not supposed to understand).

At breakfast, T'mara either forgot to ask or did not want to, which was just fine. We left the inn and the city, I conjured Pammy again and had her walking a few steps ahead, as we turned west at the road crossing just south of Dawnstar, soon passing 'Windward Ruins' (who had come up with all of those names?). When the road turned south a few hours later, we looked at our map again and found that we'd have to go cross country from here on. We increased our caution and moved ahead, but nothing much happened to hinder our progress towards Ustengrav.

As it was early afternoon by now, we were not sure if we should start into the tomb now or wait for the next morning and camp outside once. T'mara voted for camping here, as she did not want to find a safe resting area in the tomb, if it could be avoided. We agreed, and after some hunting, which got us an elk, we sat down for supper and re-conjured Pammy as night guard.

It turned out to be a good idea to have Pammy awake and guarding us, In the middle of the night we woke up from her loud howling and quickly stepped out of our tents. A group of necromancers and bandits were apparently prepared to fight each other, but had decided on short notice to ally against us, as we seemed to be easier prey. Pammy had just started to fight, which distracted the bandits and necromancers; however, a group of necromancers kept back, sticking close together, and started to cast destruction spells at us. T'mara saw her chance and shouted '_FUS RO_' in their direction, which threw all of them back quite some distance – they were out of action for now. The bandits were distracted by the shouting, which gave Lydia and myself a change to attack with our swords, while Inigo was operating his bow at astonishing speed. While fighting with my sword, I suddenly felt severe pain in one of my legs, but did not have time to check. Only after we had driven away the few remaining bandits, which were barely alive, could I sit down next to our tent and examine my leg. There was a bad wound from a sword, right next to an arrow embedded in my muscle, and I felt close to fainting. T'mara, though, saw that, got extremely worried, and made me take a health potion before I could object; she also cast her basic restoration spell on my leg, but this was not enough, so that I, as soon as I had recovered a little, added my own restoration. However, this did not get the arrow out, and if I continued to heal myself, the arrow would be a permanent addition to my leg, which wasn't exactly what I wanted. While Pammy was guarding again, I asked for a volunteer to help me get the arrow out; it was so deeply embedded, that it was probably better to fully push it through the leg. Inigo opted to do it (he had done similar operations before), and before I knew it, he had pushed the arrow through my leg, so that it could be broken and the parts removed. It took me a few minutes to recover from the pain, and only then could I complete my healing spell, and I had to almost exhaust my magicka pool to get the leg fully healed.

T'mara looked at my leg and could hardly believe that is was the same one so badly injured just an hour or earlier. Fortunately, we could all get in our bedrolls again to catch a few more hours of sleep, and T'mara cuddled very closely with me touching my leg all over again and again.

The rising sun saw us packing our gear, double checking supplies, and getting ready to enter Ustengrav. The nightly fight was almost forgotten, and I re-conjured Pammy to step ahead of us in the tomb. Whatever we expected was wrong, as this tomb was apparently populated by various factions – necromancers, mages, draugr, and conjurers. Strangely, they had not allied with each other, but seemed to be constantly fighting, sometimes just for control of a single room. We found that we could at times just watch the fights and kill off the few survivors, and a few times we used Pammy to lure one faction close to another one, which also initiated a ferocious fight. In this tomb, we almost had fun plotting and playing the other parties against each other, but I suspected that this was just the start. However, we gained quite some loot from those rooms.

And indeed, further down we came upon a puzzle I had not seen before. There was a set of three doors, apparently controlled just by walking close to three stones. However, the doors kept open only long enough to pass one or maybe two of them, but never all three. I tried a few times, but although I could run quite fast, I failed. We all started thinking, and it looked like the solution was not obvious at all. Suddenly T'mara pointed out: "Wait, those doors remind me of the gate Master Borri used in High Hrothgar to teach me the Whirlwind shout – with that shout I might be able to be fast enough". Although it did take T'mara a few attempts to find out the proper start position, she managed to '_WULD_' herself through all gates with meters to spare. Fortunately, the doors kept open once she had passed, so that we could follow. "This", I mentioned, "seems to be a challenge only the Dragonborn can overcome".

It was not going to be the only challenge, of course. We found a room with a curved wall, teaching T'mara something about becoming ethereal, and a set of pressure plates with flames ready to hurt us if we stepped wrong. T'mara actually managed to sneak across without settings off the traps, but she was the most lightweight person among us and also quite good in sneaking. I doubt that I could do the same, even with fortified sneak skill. However, after some close observation and testing (shooting bolts was enough to release the traps), we found the lighter colored tiles to be safe and could all pass now.

Another challenge included a group of frostbite spiders, one of them being almost as big as the huge one in Bleak Falls Barrow. We fought the big one the same way as we had done in the barrow, as it was too big to enter the corridor, so that we could safely shoot our bolts and arrows at it from there. From there, it was not really obvious how to proceed, as we did not see a path leading further into the tomb. However, some more intensive searching revealed a doorway completely hidden by spider webs; only burning the spider webs away made it visible.

Fortunately, the traps we had already overcome, notably the doors opening in sequence only for a brief time, had prevented bandits and necromancers from coming down here. We got a feeling that we could be close to the goal, and after entering the next big room, four big statues rose out of the water. And indeed, there seemed to be a corpse at the other end of the room, and we suspect this to be Jurgen Windcaller. Coming closer, though, we noticed that the corpse did not hold a horn, but only a note. A note? We all looked at each other, until T'mara picked up the note and read:

_Dragonborn –_

_I need to speak to you. Urgently. _

_Rent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood, and I'll meet you. _

_– __A friend_

How was that possible? A practical joke? But wait, how could someone actually get here as all of the traps were still in place? How could somebody have passed the three doors?

T'mara was disappointed and close to tears: "How we can tell the Greybeards that I do not have the horn? They will declare me a failure and a poor excuse of a Dragonborn!" I soothed her: "No, not at all. There will be a reasonable explanation, and we are going to find out. The guy playing that joke will have to have a very good explanation!"

As expected, we found a hidden door back to the main tomb area, and I suspected that the joke player must have somehow hacked the back door, although I did not know how this could have been possible. The back door allowed us get back to the surface very quickly, but we had spent the whole day in the tomb and were thus quite exhausted, so that we decided to rest and spend another night in our tents guarded by Pammy. Fortunately, this night we were not attacked and could sleep without disruption.

However, on the next morn, just as we were about to leave, a large shadow passed before the rising sun, and we could see a very large flying beast coming closer. While we all wondered what this was, the beast approached quickly, and T'mara shouted out: "A dragon!" With that, we all went into fighting mode quickly; nobody expected the dragon to join us for breakfast, and indeed, the dragon blew a white cloud out of his snout, which turned out to be very cold when it hit the ground. I quickly conjured Pammy and stepped aside to avoid being hit by the frost spell. Inigo called out: "The dragon breathes frost – let's attack with fire!" and all of us able (and willing) to do magic cast a fireball towards the beast. The fire indeed seemed to hurt, but it simply retreated a little and circled around us – Inigo, T'mara and I now used our bows and crossbow to pester the flying animal with arrows and bolts, focusing on the parts where the wings connected to the body, as we had done with the dragon at the Western Watchtower. For a while the dragon seemed to be mostly unaffected, and once it was able to hit Lydia, who was only partially protected by her shield, with its frost breath. Lydia, though, being a Nord, shrugged it off quite soon.

Many arrows and bolts later, the dragon started to lose control of its wings and crashed down not fat from us. I advised my friends not to get too close as the dragon would still be dangerous, even on the ground. Inigo made the mistake to fire his ebony bow from an exposed flat spot without close cover, and the dragon got him with frost fully on the body; Inigo was quickly frozen and fell down. Seeing that, I pulled him back and carried him to some shelter; I had to carefully thaw my best friend to avoid permanent damage and thus left the fight to Lydia, T'mara, and Pammy for the time being. When I was done warming up Inigo with soft fire casting and performed restoration, I looked out again to see the dragon almost defeated. It certainly looked exhausted, and the powerful frost clouds which had emerged from his snout only minutes earlier had now diminished to small frost patches. Just as I had noticed this, T'mara jumped forward, approached the dragon from the side and rammed her battle axe into the dragon's belly, using an opening from a wound there. Fortunately, she was smart enough to jump back quickly, leaving her axe behind, as the dragon turned around and snapped his head in her direction. I used the opportunity to thrust my greatsword into the beast's other side which was now open for me, and this together with the weapon's fire enchantment finally killed the dragon.

We all took a few minutes to rest, and soon the same happened as with the previous dragon – the dragon started to disassemble, the body parts created a colorful swirl, and the swirl finally got absorbed by the Dragonborn, leaving only the dragon's skeleton behind. T'mara again went down to her knees and almost fainted; when she had recovered, she smiled and said: "I have found out that I can use a dragon soul to unlock a shout!", which she quickly demonstrated by shouting '_YOL_' against the next bush, setting it on fire.


	15. Chapter 15 - Back to Riverwood

**Chapter 15: Back to Riverwood**

_[23rd / 24th / 25th of Frostfall 4E 201]_

Naturally, we agreed that the next step would be to find the joke player. Although the note could not be serious – living close to Riverwood, I happened to know that the Sleeping Giant Inn did not have an attic room – we needed to get to Riverwood and find out more; maybe this was just a devious scheme to make fun of the Dragonborn, or to find and kill her?

In order to get back to Riverwood, we basically had to retrace the way we came, which we were not really willing to do. Inigo, consulting our map, suggested that we could also first go to Morthal, stay at an inn, then have a long walk to Rorikstead (following the road, which was quite a detour, but probably better), staying another night at the inn, and from there to Riverwood on the third day. All of us except Lydia agreed (she had wanted to take the faster route through the snow again), and she was overruled.

Well, at least this route had the advantage of getting out of the snow shortly after Morthal. We had not bothered to talk much with people there, deciding that potentially helping with all kinds of issues would have to wait for another day, but rather got up and on the road after sunrise – walking to Morthal from Ustengrav was not supposed to take a whole day, and thus we were not in a hurry.

The weather we had to endure on that day of travel – dark clouds, constant drizzle or snowfall, low temperatures – kind of reflected our mood. We had fought bandits, necromancers, draugr, and finally a dragon, just to be rewarded with a simple note rather than the expected artifact. Instead of returning to the Greybeards, we were now supposed to find the person playing the joke on us. It also bothered us that somebody seemed to be able to circumvent the dangers and obstacles in the ruin and replace the horn with the note just like that – it seemed to be unfair. After a few hours or so of sulking and not talking much at all, Morthal was not far. Although noon was barely behind us, we all were content to rest in Morthal and continue early tomorrow morning.

Morthal, though being the capital of Hjaalmarch hold and thus being a Jarl´s residence, offered few points of interest. There were few stores and no market, but at least an inn, Moorside Inn, run by a Redguard called Jonna. I suspected that at least Inigo and Lydia would be tempted to drink a lot of mead and ale to pass the rest of the day, but I had a different idea and addressed Lydia: "Hey, Lydia, it's quite cold here – what about a quick ice water bath down there close to the bridge?" The water was really too cold for anybody than a Nord, but Lydia and I were both Nords. Lydia quickly agreed, and I had Inigo bring a few towels. We stepped out of the inn and turned towards the bridge, which connected the town with the sawmill further north. Just short of the waterline I stopped, and both Lydia and I undressed down to our undies; this being done, we stepped into the water, which was indeed freezing cold, with a few ice floes not far away. Inigo had seen me doing that before, but for T'mara it was the first time. She dipped her paw into the water and looked at me like I was crazy: "Are you serious? This is freezing! Why would anybody want to go in there voluntarily?".

Well, I have to admit that, after even submerging my head for a few times, five minutes or so were good enough. Lydia and I got out again, grinned at each other, and gladly accepted the towels Inigo was handing out to us. We rubbed ourselves dry, got dressed again, and found two chairs at the inn close to the roaring fireplace very comfortable and appealing now.

Lydia pulled a chair close to Inigo and rested her head on his shoulder, but T'mara simply decided to sit in my lap instead, although I was not fully dry yet, closing her eyes and starting to purr. Inigo just raised a brow and sent me a few understanding looks, but when Lydia looked up and saw us, she gaped for a few moments and asked right away and quite bluntly: "Is there something going on between the two of you which I have missed?" None of us really wanted to answer this question, so I replied with a neutral face (or so I hoped at least): "Why? This is just a tired Khajiit finding a warm and cozy place to rest." This answer was obviously not good enough for Lydia, but when T'mara looked at her in a way which her housecarl could hardly misinterpret, she decided that it was not her place to criticize her Thane after all. We went to bed early, as we planned to get up before sunrise for the long walk to Rorikstead tomorrow. After having dinner together – Jonna served delicious elk steaks – we retired to our rooms and enjoyed a restful sleep.

Getting to Rorikstead from Morthal was not a really big distance as the crow flies, but by following the roads, we first had to turn west following the main road going to Solitude eventually, turn left just before getting to Dragon Bridge, pass the infamous bandit lair called 'Robber's Gorge', and finally follow the road uphill after crossing the river. Somehow, we were a little reluctant to do exactly that, and Inigo suggested, after consulting the map: "You see, we could leave the road just after the bridge when we get beyond the permanent frost and snow region. Going south, taking a small path, we can pass 'Dead Men's Respite' and 'Crabber's Shanty', just to meet the main road again south of 'Robber's Gorge'." We all thought about this for a moment and agreed, although I suspected we might regret leaving the road later on.

Soon after we met the main road south of Morthal, we saw a group of tall elves in Elven and Glass armor using the same road, but in the other direction. I tried to be polite, but they just arrogantly told us that they were Thalmor on official business, and we'd better keep out of the way. I could not resist to dig a little deeper by asking: "Do all Thalmor have such high opinions of themselves?" One of the Thalmor replied: "That we are superior to men is an established fact. For example, take this belief in Talos. The 'ninth' Divine. Certainly you don't believe such things? Perhaps there's something you wish to confess?" At this point, we decided to not continue the conversation any further and went our way. T'mara had not seen Thalmor before and asked what was so special about them. Lydia explained: "The Thalmor are a faction among the Altmer. The Thalmor see the races of man as inferior to Mer. In their eyes, they seek to pacify and purify all of Tamriel, to bring about a new era in which Mer rule over Man. Unfortunately, by the terms of the White-Gold Concordat, they are entitled to move around Skyrim. It is usually best to keep out of their way."

We continued our walk and found ourselves at the bridge west of Morthal when the sun was still quite low. After the bridge, we indeed identified something like a narrow footpath leading south, and as there was only a partial snow cover on the ground here, the path was easy to follow. As Inigo had predicted, we soon passed 'Dead Men's Respite', a Nordic ruin located further up in the hills to our right, and moved along the riverbank.

Just before getting to a hut called 'Crabber's Shanty', though, a loud roar could be heard, and a big shadow moved closer with the wind – another dragon had found us. Or rather, the dragon had found the cabin, as it breathed fireballs against it. Of course the hut was mainly built from wood, and the fisherman living in it, standing not far away with his rod and net, cursed the dragon vehemently. Although it was probably too late to save the hut, we went into attack mode, and this time we used our frost spells. The dragon had identified itself as fire dragon, and thus we assumed it to be more or less immune to fire, but sensitive to frost. Similar to the previous dragon, this one also tried to keep out of our spell range most of the time, but it was too proud to disappear. My crossbow bolts at least could cover quite some distance, and from my last visit to Castle Dawnguard I had also brought a few bolts with exploding fire and some with exploding frost. I had promised Sorine to test them in combat, and a dragon fight would do as well as a fight against vampires. Thus, I loaded my crossbow with one of those special frost bolts, and managed to hit the dragon's wing – indeed, frost seemed to spread out from the there, covering a significant part of the wing. A few more of those, and the dragon came crashing down, right into the shallow river, terrifying some mudcrabs. Now we could get closer, and Inigo and I both cast our strongest frost spells directly at the beast's head, right when it had its snout open, presumably to blast fire at us. The frost apparently hurt a lot and took most of the fight out of it, and T'mara and Lydia were able to finish if off with their sword and axe, respectively. T'mara collected another dragon soul, and, as usual, almost fainted.

The local fisherman had stared at us fighting the dragon, and when he saw my Khajiit companion absorbing the dragon's soul, he called out in awe: "I don't believe it – you are Dragonborn!" I nodded to him and asked him what he planned to do now with his cabin in ruins. He responded that he wanted to stay here and rebuild, maybe also using a few more stones, but he lacked sufficient funds. I gave him a coin purse to get him started (we had more than plenty of those from various chests and urns in Ustengrav and other places), and he could not stop thanking us. Knowing that we had done something good today at least, we soon continued our walk and reached the bridge south of 'Robber's Gorge', making sure to keep close to the river and not catch the bandits' attention.

Back on the road, walking was a little easier again, and we only encountered a traveling merchant and passed a group of people who claimed that they were on their way to Solitude to attend the wedding of Vittoria Vici, the emperor's cousin. I had heard about that upcoming wedding (scheduled for mid of the month Sun's Dusk, if I remembered properly), and, as I was also a Thane of Solitude, I was probably expected to attend, but the group was walking South rather than Nord – that was surely not the shortest way to Solitude. Two bandits asking for our gold just east of 'Lund´s Hut' had to find out that we took their gold rather than vice versa, and we finally reached Rorikstead before sunset.

We were now back in Whiterun hold already and headed towards 'Frostfruit Inn', operated by the Nord Mralki. I had been here before and was warmly greeted. Two rooms were available, which we payed for one night, and we sat down for dinner. Retiring to the rooms later on we found that they did not have two single beds each, but only one larger bed. I know that this was not an issue for Lydia and Inigo, but I looked at T'mara when we stepped in our room. She seemed to understand what my concern was and told me: "Don't be silly – we are sleeping in one bed, too, when we are in Breezehome. Also, absorbing a dragon soul always makes me need a lot of cuddling. Thus if you don't mind, get to bed so that we can do this!"

I was certainly not used to being ordered around like this, but I found that I did not mind, at least not with this wonderful Khajiit girl. She liked to cuddle with me, that was good enough for now at least, and cuddle we did.

Breakfast was served by Erik, Mralki's son. Erik was an aspiring adventurer, but was unsure about leaving the safety of the village. He asked us: "You look like you've seen your share of adventure. I envy you that. In fact, maybe you can help me with something."

"What is it that you need?", I responded.

"I want to be an adventurer like you, but my father says I can't.", Erik said. "He says that he needs me to stay here and work the farm, and even if he did let me be an adventurer, we couldn't afford to buy armor. I hope you can change his mind. I can't stand the thought of being trapped in this village for the rest of my days."

"I can talk to your father, and if you actually decide to leave, you may want to check with the Companions in Whiterun. If they accept you, they'll also provide armor and weapons."

I actually managed to talk to his father after our morning meal and suggested to allow Erik to travel to Whiterun and being tested by Kodlak. If he was accepted, he was supposed to do something else but farming, and if we was not accepted, he would probably come back. Mralki promised to think about it at least.

This being settled, we were on out way again soon, traveling along the road towards Riverwood. As Jarl Balgruuf insisted to be neutral, he did not have to worry about supporting either the Stormcloaks or the Imperials, and he could and did afford to sent sufficient road patrols around to make traveling safe enough at least at day time (well, mostly, and main roads only). Some forts and other fortified places in the hold (such as 'Fort Greymoor', close to the Western Watchtower – actually, I never understood why the Jarl decided to place guards in the watchtower rather than in the much better suited fort) were still not properly occupied by the guards, but that could not be helped for now.


	16. Chapter 16 - Finding the joker

[Author's Notes: Now as we're about to learn more, the first part is partially canon. But the second part (what happens around the hot springs and such is mostly my idea]

**Chapter 16: Finding the joker**

_[25th - 28th of Frostfall 4E 201]_

Our group arrived at Riverwood not too late in the day, while the birds were still singing and fragrant flower smells were lingering in the town. Stepping up to the bar, where Delphine was actually present today, I said:"I know this sounds crazy, but I want to rent the attic room".

Delphine responded: "Attic room, eh? Well... we don't have an attic room, but you can have the one on the left. Make yourself at home."

Lacking better ideas, T'mara and I retreated to the indicated room, while Lydia and Inigo stayed in the hall for the time being. Somehow we assumed something was going to happen, but we had to wait until almost midnight when the door quietly opened and Delphine stepped in. She addressed me: "So you're the Dragonborn I've been hearing so much about". Pointing at T'mara, I responded: "Not quite – she is". Delphine looked surprised, but reached into her pouch and retrieved a horn: "Oh, is that so? Well, I think you're looking for this. We need to talk. Follow me."

Naturally, both of us followed her. She did not like this at all, claiming that she needed to talk to the Dragonborn alone, but T'mara was quite insistent and threatened to leave: "We now have the horn of Jurgen Windcaller. If you want to talk, you will need to talk to both of us or none at all!"

Leading us into her room and closing the door, the innkeeper opened a hidden door in one of her cupboards and had us step down into the basement I did not know existed.

Delphine stated: "The Greybeards seem to think you're the Dragonborn. I hope they're right."

T'mara confirmed: "The Greybeards are right. I am Dragonborn."

Delphine doubtfully said: "I hope so. But you'll forgive me if I don't assume that something's true just because the Greybeards say so. I just handed you the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. Does that make me Dragonborn, too?"

T'mara was stubborn: "I just came here for the horn."

Delphine admitted: "And now you have it. No harm done. I knew the Greybeards would send you for the horn if they thought you were Dragonborn. Taking it was the only way I could be sure this wasn't a Thalmor trap. I'm part of a group that's been looking for you... well, someone like you, for a very long time. If you really are Dragonborn, that is. Before I tell you any more, I need to make sure I can trust you."

T'mara was not sure: "How do I know I can trust you?"

Delphine said: "If you don't trust me, you were a fool to walk in here in the first place."

T'mara objected: "Not quite, not with Timotheus at my side! But anyway, what's the part you're not telling me?"

Delphine explained: "Dragons aren't just coming back, they're coming back to life. They weren't gone somewhere for all these years. They were dead, killed off centuries ago by my predecessors. Now something's happening to bring them back to life. And I need you to help me stop it."

I threw in: "Do you know how crazy this sounds?"

Delphine almost laughed: "Ha. A few years ago, I said almost the same thing to a colleague of mine. Well, it turned out he was right and I was wrong."

I was still not convinced: "What makes you think dragons are coming back to life?"

Delphine nodded: "I know they are. I've visited their ancient burial mounds and found them empty. And I've figured out where the next one will come back to life. We're going to go there, and you're going to kill that dragon. If we succeed, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

T'mara almost could not believe it: "How did you figure all this out?"

Delphine told her: "You should know. You got the map for me. The Dragonstone you got for Farengar, remember? The Dragonstone was a map of ancient dragon burial sites. I've looked at which ones are now empty. The pattern is pretty clear. It seems to be spreading from the southeast, down in the Jerall Mountains near Riften. The one at Kynesgrove is next if the pattern holds."

I pointed out: "Kynesgrove. There's an ancient dragon burial near there. I know that mound – high on the hill east of Kynesgrove."

Delphine liked my information: "Good. Good. Now we won't have to spend time searching for it. We should get moving. There's no time to waste."

We agreed to travel to Kynesgrove with Delphine on the next day, but first we needed some sleep.

For this quest, we decided to not take Inigo and Lydia with us, and we got started on our new task shortly after sunrise. As we did not want to arrive completely exhausted, we made a night stop close to 'Mixwater Mill'. Mid morning on the next day, we approached the village, and a seemingly distraught resident of the town called out: "No, you don't want to go up there! A dragon... it's attacking!"

Traveling up the hill, we could see a huge black dragon flying in circles. T'mara paled and whispered: "I am almost sure that this is the same dragon which attacked Helgen!" As we were getting closer to the burial mound, the huge black dragon ignored us, as it was focused on doing something with the mound, or rather with something in it. The huge black dragon shouted some sentence in dragon language, and a smaller dragon in the mound gained form and finally emerged from the mound into the air, saying something which started like "Alduin, thuri!", and the black dragon responded: "Geh, Sahloknir" and something more I could not understand. We guessed that the black dragon´s name must be Alduin, and the smaller one was called Sahlokhnir. I thought that I had read Alduin´s name in a book before, but didn't have a chance to follow that thought, as the smaller dragon attacked us now.

Again it turned out that Sahloknir was a fire dragon, and thus we used our frost spells. I wondered if all dragons had about the same strength and health, and thought not, as we were able to bring down this newborn dragon more quickly than the two others before. The huge black one, supposedly called Alduin, had already left – maybe it thought that its smaller companion would be enough to kill us of, but of course this wasn't going to happen. When Sahloknir was down and visibly weakened, T'mara was getting brave (or maybe coltish?) again, jumped on the beast´s head and attacked with her axe, managing to hit one of the dragon's eyes. This, followed by a few more frost spells, was enough to kill the beast, and soon after we could see the dragon's body disintegrate and T'mara absorbing the soul. Absentmindedly she murmured: "I need to find a frost shout with all of those fire dragons".

Delphine, having observed the fight (of course she had also helped with her bow) commented: "I'll be damned, you did it! That was well done. Come on. I've been wanting a closer look at one of these buggers. Wait. Something's happening... gods above! So you really are... I... it´s true, isn't it? You really are Dragonborn. I owe you some answers, don't I? Go ahead. Whatever you want to know. Nothing held back."

Delphine now told us that she was a member of the Blades, an organization which used to be some kind of the Emperor's personal bodyguard and more back in the third era. She said that the Blades also used to be Dragonslayers, and now, with dragons being back, were supposed to do that and support the Dragonborn. However, she believed to be the only surviving Blade, as the Thalmor had killed off almost all of them in the Great War. She seemed to assume that the Thalmor were somehow responsible for the return of the dragons, but we found this hard to believe. As a next step she wanted to get more information from the Thalmor, best by infiltrating the Thalmor embassy in Haafingar Hold, but did not yet know how to do this.

As she need to think about recent happenings more, we agreed to meet again in Riverwood at an undefined later time, and split up here in Kynesgrove, to have Delphine move back to Riverwood on her own.

T'mara asked, when she was gone: "This woman scares me – do you think that she is right about the Thalmor?"

I replied: "Not sure, but I do not really think so. I cannot believe that such noble creatures – sorry for using that attribute, and maybe it is not justified, as they attack so much – allow themselves to be controlled by the Thalmor".

T'mara agreed: "Yes, same here. But now I need a break – does this village have an inn, what do you think?"

I suggested with a grin: "Yes, it does. However, for getting a break, have you ever been to the hot springs southwest of here?"

The Khajiit answered: "No, I have not. But if this is 'hot springs' like in 'hot water', let's go!"

Happily smiling, I guided T'mara back to the main road. Turning left, we walked south for a few minutes, carefully passing 'Steamcrag Camp' - I did not want to disturb the giants and their mammoths. When the road started to turn left again, I took her right into the hot spring area, and we soon found a secluded spot with a nice hot water pond on a raised stone platform, which provided a nice view around – one could even observe the mammoths from here. I had been here before and had memorized the location.

I conjured Pammy as guard and quickly got out of my clothes, just keeping a loincloth. With a deep sigh, I moved my body into the pond, exhaled my breath with a deep sigh, and closed my eyes, enjoying the perfect water temperature. Seeing this, T'mara did not need more encouragement; she also undressed down to her undies and joined me, finding a comfortable spot right across from me. Knowing from Inigo that Khajiit are in general not so very fond of water and getting wet, as their fur takes a long time to get dry again, I had not been sure if she was ready to take a bath here, but it looked like the hot spring was just too tempting.

We were sitting here for maybe half an hour without uttering a single word, when she suddenly meowed: "Timotheus, can I ask a favor, please?" I responded: "Of course, T'mara – what is it?" After a short break she asked: "My back itches – can you please scratch me there?" I smiled and replied "Sure – this will be a pleasure for me!". She moved closer to me and turned around, until she was basically sitting between my legs, only her head showing above the waterline. I moved my hands and slowly and gently started to scratch and fondle her back, enjoying the touch of her fur on my fingers. Petting Pammy, I had had a chance to feel fur between my fingers before, but somehow this was different and – hard to describe, but so much nicer.

I could have continued doing that into the night and into the next day without even noticing the passing time, but eventually (probably one or two hours later, but I was not sure) T'mara moved to get out of the pond. Asking here what's wrong, she replied: "Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed your attention a lot and feel much better now. But the sun has passed the zenith already, and my fur will take hours to get fully dry again, preferably in sunshine." Of course she was right, and while she was taking a sunbath now to get dry, I went hunting, managed to get two rabbits, and returned, preparing the rabbits and starting a fire to roast them. I also put a few potatoes from my supplies at the edge of the fire, and when the food was done, we enjoyed our dinner. Not bothering to move away from this nice place, I assembled our small tent and rolled out the bedrolls. As usual, Pammy guarded our sleep.

When we awoke, we found that this was the first day since at least a week ago without specific plans. We did not need to get to a specific place today, no urgent quest waited, and nobody urgently needed to talk to us.

T'mara obviously noticed the same and asked: "Say, Timotheus, do we have any specific plans for today?"

I told her that we didn't and she seemed to be very happy about it. I asked in return: "Do you like to visit caves with no enemies, but beautiful plants instead?"

T'mara looked up: "This sounds interesting – does such a place exist at all?

I told her that a place called 'Eldergleam Sanctuary' was located not far from here. I had seen it before briefly, when I had assisted a Nord girl called Vilja a few years ago (what was it with me and helping girls?), and the cave was known to be inhabited only by peaceful followers of Kynareth. We quickly agreed to visit the place, which only took us a couple of hours, slowly walking across the hot spring area and occasionally picking some of the colorful flowers, mostly Dragon's Tongue.

Entering Eldergleam Sanctuary, we found ourselves in a different world. The harsh and bright sunshine was replaced by dimmed and muted cavern light, the rough grounds outside replaced by some soft plants, and the noise of wind and hot spring water replaced by whispering cave sounds. T'mara stopped and took a couple of minutes to enjoy the changed scenery. Once we slowly moved on, we soon encountered a few friendly disciples of Kynareth, who claimed that they could somehow communicate with the cave nature and the big Eldergleam tree, which could be seen in the cave's background. They did not mind at all us staying here and admiring the cave and plants, as long as we kept our peace – otherwise Kynareth would punish us, they claimed.

Stepping closer to the huge Eldergleam tree, which was big enough to almost reach the cave ceiling high above our head, T'mara whispered: "This tree looks almost like the Gildergreen tree Danica tends to in Whiterun!" I agreed: "Yes, it does. I believe Danica once mentioned that the Gildergreen tree was raised from a branch or a sapling taken off the Eldergleam tree here, a long time ago."

A long time later, which we spent very slowly walking through the cave, relaxing, and enjoying, T'mara insisted: "We need to come back here eventually – this is such a nice and wonderful place – I can't believe that such a place actually exists in Skyrim!", and I fully agreed with her. "You know", I said, with some kind of adoration my voice, "nature is special to me. Once I met a traveler called Bishop, and he had phrased it much better than I can:

'In nature, I can be who I am. Just a person. The trees do not expect me to be kind or selfish. The wildlife expects me to eat it, should I be hungry and able to catch it. The wind does not ask for my word or my counsel. The soil doesn't rise to meet my boots or shy away from them. Here, I am simply the person who sees from these eyes and walks on there feet. I can leave judgment and expectations in the towns and just walk.'

That's about how I feel." T'mara did not respond, but her eyes agreed. After we had spent almost the entire day here, we set up our tent (asking permission from the Kynareth followers before) and spent the night in this beautiful cave, too. On the next morning, just before we left, T'mara looked back into the cave and sighed: "This is so beautiful!". I agreed and told her so, but unknown to her (or at least I assumed that she did not notice) I looked at her rather than the cave interior when saying that.

[Author's Note: The laud to nature in the second last paragraph of this chapter is a quote from the story "Soul of a Dragon" by the author "InMyMindsEye", chapter 12. This is so nicely written, that I could not resist using it]


	17. Chapter 17 - Lydia in danger

**Chapter 17: Lydia in danger**

_[29th of Frostfall - 6th of Sun's Dusk 4E 201]_

Back to work on the next day it was, we decided – time to get the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller back to where it belongs. As the hot springs were located not so far from Ivarstead, we planned to leisurely walk to Ivarstead, spend a night or two at the inn, and climb up to High Hrothgar again. We felt refreshed with new energy, after the relaxing day at the hot springs and the peaceful spirit of the beautiful cave on the day after. I lead the way, first going to 'Darkwater Crossing', a small mining village close to the river. We chatted a little with the locals doing a little bit of farming, and crossed the bridge. For ten minutes we followed the road towards Whiterun, but then turned left into a smaller road which would eventually bring us to Ivarstead. That smaller road forced us to go uphill again, but as the hot spring area was located at a much lower altitude than Ivarstead, this was not unexpected.

"Climbing, climbing, climbing", T'mara complained, "can't somebody invent something which enables us to go downhill all of the time?" I laughed: "Well, that would be nice, wouldn't it? I read in a fictional book some time ago that a gifted kid wanted to invent something to make slopes connected to an axle or so, so they could be turned around. I guess this was never done, though". It was T'mara´s turn to laugh now. We continued to follow the steep path, with Pammy scouting ahead, when suddenly a fireball was launched from a bush towards Pammy. My familiar was apparently hurt, but immediately jumped into action. It turned out that a group of necromancers had been waiting for hapless travelers, and it was our task to show them that they had made a mistake. I shouted to T'mara: "Necromancers are usually hurt by fire, too – why don't you use your fire shout?" while casting a fire blast on my own. T'mara had understood me and, identifying a group of enemies clustered together, shouted '_YOL_' at them, setting them all on fire. Together with Pammy attacking, that did it – those necromancers who were not either killed or almost dead, left in a hurry. We got some more loot from the bodies and soon reached the river flowing down from Ivarstead; as Ivarstead was still higher, the river came down in some rapids.

Wilhelm was happy to see us again: "Oh, my favorite customers again!" he clapped his hands. We smiled at him and payed for a room for two nights, as we planned to take it easy. Wilhelm promised us a good venison stew for dinner later on, and, without further prompting, served each of us a cup of milk, with a smile still on his face. As we had some time to kill before dinner, I decided on a bit of a workout (I had my muscles and reputation to maintain, after all!) and helped out for an hour each at the quarry and the sawmill without accepting any payment for it. T'mara smiled at me and said that she liked my way of helping people for free at some times.

On the next day, rather than doing nothing, we went for a bear hunt. Temba Wide-Arm had mentioned that too many bears had found their home close to Ivarstead, and they were starting to bother the citizens and hurting the business. T'mara and I actually managed to bring ten bear pelts to Temba at the end of the day (Pammy's fine nose had helped immensely to locate the bears, of course, and we had been lucky to find some bears in 'Pinepeak Cavern'), which made her very happy, and we had made another friend, it seemed.

After another night at the inn we rose early, found a simple but filling breakfast ready for us already (we had told Wilhelm about our plans, naturally) and started the climb. Fortunately, the sun was up soon, and few clouds were in the sky. This time we had not met Klimmek and thus did not have a chance to offer to take his supplies again. I wondered how a monthly delivery of food from a basket or so could be sufficient for four people up there, and concluded that there were either other people also carrying supplies or the Greybeards had other means – was there a spell to conjure food?

Passing the stone tablets with the etchings, we encountered the expected wildlife, and T'mara found plenty of opportunities to practice her '_YOL_' shout, which was good enough to seriously discourage each wolf, skeever, and Ice Wraith daring to approach us. We set up our tent in the same place as before, slightly more than half way up the mountain, and were soon ready for sleep. This time I asked my companion: "T'mara, if you feel like you are getting cold, please do not hesitate to get closer; I have a lot of body heat to share, and I wouldn't mind at all sharing with you – what do you think?" She purred and agreed, and moved her body right away as close to mine as the bedrolls allowed, and we wrapped one arm each around the other person. Before sleep claimed me, I started to think how it might feel to have her in the same bedroll together with me, but immediately found two problems with that. First, this would not be decent and way too personal, my own feelings notwithstanding. Second, as I was a very tall and athletic person, there was no way somebody else was able to fit into my bedroll, no way at all – it was almost too tight just for me. I decided that I needed to find somebody willing to make larger and wider bedrolls when I finally fell asleep.

When I woke up on the next day, T'mara was already awake, but in almost the same position as before, and thus very close to me. She looked into my eyes, purred, and just looked happy. "You know", she said, "spending nights like that makes the Dragonborn business kind of acceptable". We both smiled and started getting ready for the second part of the climb.

As I was almost afraid of, the Frost Troll we had killed before in that ravine must have had a cousin or brother, and a very similar beast waited for us. Of course we were prepared – I had a bolt of Exploding Fire ready in my crossbow, and T'mara was planing to do her fire shout. The beast accelerated towards us and we both fired/shouted. The troll was stopped short for a moment, so that I had time for a reload, and fired again. This almost did it, and Pammy was able to quickly finish it off. "That was easier than the first time, I think" I commented, and my pretty Khajiit companion agreed.

From here on visibility was quite limited and some kind of snow storm made progress difficult. Fortunately, we only needed to follow the steps, and although we had to slow down, we managed to get to High Hrothgar before darkness fell upon us.

Master Arngeir was visibly happy to see us, offered us the guest room again and suggested to talk about 'business' on the next day, which was just fine for us. We slept reasonably well, despite high altitude and the resulting thinner air. When we got breakfast, I looked at the contents and decided that this could not have been prepared just from Klimmek´s supplies alone; the Greybeards must have other means to get food. However, it was not my problem, and I did not want to inquire into their 'trade secrets'.

Soon after we had eaten, Master Arngeir asked us about any progress, and T'mara presented the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. Master Arngeir was happy about that, admitted T'mara had now passed the trials, and invited her to be fully recognized as Dragonborn by all of them. He also warned me to stay in this room as they were going to shout at the Dragonborn, which wouldn't hurt her, but me, if I got too close.

T'mara came back about an hour later and excitedly told me that she had now learned '_DAH_', the final word of 'Unrelenting Force', and that all of the four Greybeards had welcomed her with Dragon shouts. Master Arngeir´s final words had been: "Dovahkiin. You have tasted the Voice of the Greybeards, and passed through unscathed. High Hrothgar is open to you."

We spent this day and the next two here, with T'mara doing some meditations and asking more question, and myself enjoying some of the many books being available. Some people wrongly assumed that I had lots of muscles and little brain, but I did like to read as well, both Tamriel related and fictional books. I also tried to find more information on Dragon language and Dragon shouts. Recalling the words which had been exchanged between Alduin (the huge black dragon) and Sahloknir (the smaller dragon resurrected by him) near Kynesgrove, I was able to translate now that the smaller dragon had said something like "Alduin, master", getting a reply like "Yes, Sahloknir". I decided to start a collection of dragon language words in my notebook and hoped that we were going to be back here for a few days again, as the books were a source of very valuable knowledge.

T'mara confessed that she started to enjoy her time up here. No enemies or bandits lurked, the Greybeards seemed to like her, a lot could be learned, and she was fully accepted. There was also time to meditate and to read, and nobody expected her to do something in a hurry, even Master Arngeir insisted that she needed to take her time to develop her capabilities and rushing the training and education would not help. She also added, that being here was specifically nice with me being close to her; although I could not be part of most of her training sessions, she insisted of sharing all of her meals with me, and, during the nights, her bed for some cuddling, which she really seemed to enjoy. I had to admit that I shared her view on all that – being here almost felt like being in a fantasy world removed from Skyrim, with all (or at least most) sorrows and problems being far away, like we had also enjoyed our time in Eldergleam Sanctuary.

We told Master Arngeir that we would show up again soon and that we really enjoyed their hospitality and appreciated the training T'mara received and would continue to receive. Master Arngeir hinted that sometimes he would be able to let us know where we could find a word wall T'mara had not visited yet for more shouts, although she still needed a dragon soul to unlock each individual shout. But, as we had encountered some dragons already, it looked like more of them were going to be resurrected by Alduin, so she should not be running out of souls anytime soon.

For the next day we planned to get up early again and stroll down to Ivarstead. We did so and arrived there before sunset, just to travel back home to Riverside Lodge on the following day. Very relaxed and in a good mood we arrived back home in the evening, expecting Lydia and Inigo to greet us happily. Instead, a rather angry and furious looking Inigo sat on the porch together with Jordis and had his head down. We came closer to talk to him, and he showed us a note which he said had arrived per courier earlier on the same day:

_To the Dragonborn -_

_We got Lydia._

_If you want to see here again alive, bring 10,000 septims to White River Watch alone_

We looked at Inigo, asking how this could have happened. He told us that Lydia hat not returned from hunting yesterday, and he assumed that she had been ambushed by bandits. It was a shame that a bandit lair was there that close to Whiterun, and Inigo had just returned from Dragonsreach today, learning that there was a bounty on the bandits, but all capable companions were on a quest and not available on short notice; the whelps could not be trusted with such a task.

I comforted Inigo and told him that we would of course take care of the issue. T'mara and I spend an hour or so at the alchemy table, and she watched me preparing a few potions of fortify sneak and invisibility. Of course we did not want to endanger Lydias´s life, but we were unwilling to pay ransom either, so that sneaking seemed to be the best option. Fortunately, my alchemy skills had, by years of practice, reached a level which enabled me to brew quite capable potions, so that no bandit should be able to see us when we sneaked in. We also took a few bottles with paralysis poisons for our bows and swords to disable bandits for some time.

As we planned to attack in the wee hours of the morning, we found time for a few hours of sleep, and we left home shortly after midnight. Jordis was staying home, as she was the least stealthy of us, and we needed somebody to stay here in case Lydia managed to get free on her own. Traveling to the outside of the cave only took about two and a half hours walking cautiously, so that we arrived not far from the cave entrance at around three in the morning. We distributed the potion and poison bottles and each of us took a sip from the sneak potion, before we approached the cave entrance. Two bandits were visible keeping watch, one of them close to the campfire, and the other one close to the cave entrance. As we did not know if somebody would check them from inside, we did not touch them, but rather took an invisibility potion each and sneaked around them into the cave.

Inside, right after the entrance, we were challenged by a man nonetheless. I had expected our potions to prevent that, but it turned out that this man was blind, and thus his hearing was probably specifically sensitive. He asked: "Eh? Who's there? Rodulf, that you?" I tried to reply with not much more than a whisper: "Yes, it's me" and he told me: "Boss was looking for you – said he'd be up at the summit. Better not keep him waiting." and returned to "looking" at his book, which I could see had blank pages. What was that supposed to be?

Anyway, it looked like this farce allowed us to pass the guard, and he either did not notice or did not care that three people rather than one had entered. We assumed that Lydia would probably be kept close to the boss, and thus we had to find our way upwards. Cautiously proceeding, we passed another couple of bandits talking about some bandit stuff, and in the next room a bandit was working at an alchemy table. Bandits smart enough to operate an alchemy table? That was news to me, but I guess that they'd need healing potions, too, and were less likely to be able to buy them in stores.

Further up we could see a wolf hold in a cage, and three bandits discussing its fate. Apparently one bandit wanted to try to train the wolf, but the other two told him that it would not work. The wolf actually could be a problem, as it would smell us if we walked any further. I did not know if the bandits would be smart enough to be alerted by the wolf's reaction, but maybe the one planing to do the wolf training was not completely dull. Thus we decided to silence first the three bandits and then the wolf with paralysis arrows. We could not risk a bandit behind us noticing the attack and knowing a shortcut to alert his boss. All three us released our arrows at almost the same time, and the bandits stopped moving immediately; the wolf also got an arrow.

No more bandits showed up in the room, and a narrow path lead further upwards. Refreshing our sneak and invisibility potions, we carefully moved on, and soon we could head a man's voice saying something. We moved closer, and finally we could understand the words – apparently, he was mocking somebody. Soon we could look around the last corner and saw Lydia, bound to a chair, and the assumed bandit chief close to her and insulting her. She did not look injured, but we did not want to take any risk. Inigo, as our best bow shooter, dipped another arrow in paralysis poison and took his shot. The bandit chief was a tall and strong man, and the potion took a few seconds to be fully effective. He quickly realized what was happening and had his sword out in almost no time at all, trying to hit Lydia with it. T'mara, though, had anticipated something like that and had one of her throwing daggers prepared and ready to throw; before the sword could get even close to Lydia, the chief's arm was hit by the dagger, and the sword fell down, together with the bandit, now fully paralyzed. I looked at T'mara and admired her: "Wow, that was a real quick reaction!"

Of course we now took care of Lydia, removed her bounds and asked he if she was fine. She said that yes, she was, just hungry and thirsty. That could be remedied, and we provided some of our supplies for her. While we were tending her, though, a group of bandits approached from downstairs. They must have noticed their paralyzed colleagues and guessed our plans. Not knowing our strength, they expected an attack in force might work. I quickly conjured Pammy, and Inigo was already working his bow, so that the attack was over more quickly than it had started.

Lydia was still a little weak on her feet; after being tightly bound for about 24 hours, her blood circulation needed some time to get back to normal again. After we had looted the bandit chief and his boss chest (we all agreed that this was more than fair, after all), Inigo and T'mara went ahead to take care of potentially remaining bandits, and I helped Lydia, half carrying her. Pammy kept behind us just in case a bandit wanted to attack us from the back. The bandits we had paralyzed earlier were still out of action, so that we probably only had to deal with the blind one just inside the entrance and the two guards outside.

We briefly discussed how to proceed. I suggested that we ask them to leave the area and threaten to come back in force after a few day to kill any bandit who might still be here. Lydia objected, saying even if it worked, the bandits would just do their 'job' somewhere else, and other citizens of Skyrim would get hurt, stolen from, or even killed. As Inigo has also seen the bounty letter from the Jarl, he insisted that it was both legal and desired to kill off all bandits without mercy. Bandits willing to change their way of life always had a chance to deliver themselves to the guards, stay in jail for some time, and start a new life afterwards, but everybody involved in felonies like murder and kidnapping had his or her life forfeit. I didn't like it (I guess that I was a soft 'milk drinker' in my heart – I did not have a problem killing those who attacked me, but I found it difficult to kill people who could not fight, like the paralyzed bandits), but had to admit that they were right. Thus, we killed all paralyzed bandits, freed the wolf – Pammy was able to guide it outside successfully later on – and finally defeated the two guards outside before they really understood what was going on.

We had completed the raid before the first light was visible on the horizon, and we had been lucky as were able to free Lydia unharmed, and none of us had a scratch. I proudly looked around and found that we were a very good team, and I said so to everybody.

Tired, but happy we walked back to Riverside Lodge. Lydia could not stop thanking her Thane that she had risked her life for her. In order to distract her, T'mara asked her to tell us how she was captured, and she confirmed our suspicion – the bandits had apparently been waiting for her and prepared an ambush; while hunting, she suddenly had five arrows pointed at her, and surrender seemed to be the only option to survive. We were all glad to have her back, and while we were going to rest this day, we planned to send Jordis to Dragonsreach to inform the Jarl about the cleared cave and collect the bounty.

[Author's Note: Not sure if anybody got the background related to the "kid who wanted to invent something to make slopes connected to an axle or so, so they could be turned around", close to the beginning of the chapter. This is a reference to a boy from the book "Children of Noisy Village" by the famous Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, who wrote some of the best books for children IMHO]


	18. Chapter 18 - Off to Solitude

**Chapter 18: Off to Solitude**

_[6th - 10th of Sun's Dusk 4E 201]_

Fortunately, Lydia recovered quickly, and we all (except Jordis, who had been sent to Whiterun) spent a quiet day at the Lodge. As I had promised her to do, I also spent a couple of hours with T'mara at the alchemy table and showed her some basics, like how to prepare a simple potion of 'Restore Health' from blue mountain flower and wheat. She had watched me a few days ago, but the more complex potions I had prepared for Lydia's rescue were way beyond her capabilities, and now we had some time for teaching some basics and getting her started.

In the afternoon, when Jordis was back, I announced that Vittoria Vici's wedding was scheduled for mid of the month in Solitude. As this was a big event – Vittoria being the Emperors' cousin – I was expected to be there, in my position as Thane of Solitude, with Jordis, my Solitude housecarl. T'mara quickly opted to come, as she had not been in Solitude before, whereas Lydia and Inigo wanted to stay here.

The fastest way to get to Solitude was the road via Rorikstead and Dragon Bridge. I suggested to arrive in style and take a carriage from Whiterun. Also, as many people would be visiting, I had already sent a courier weeks ago to get a room booked at the local inn 'The Winking Skeever'. Jordis would always be able to bunk in the barracks. Before we retired for the night, I noticed T'mara having a longer conversation with Lydia, and as they occasionally looked at me, I wondered if I should get involved. However, I decided that this was probably 'girl talk' and focused on our travel preparations.

A couple of days later Jordis, T'mara and I left very early to catch the carriage at the Whiterun stables and settled in for a relaxing journey, or so we thought. However, when we had just passed Fort Greymoor, a dragon attacked, and the horses almost panicked. Quickly, Jordis, T'mara and I jumped down from the wagon, told Bjorlam, the driver, to hide and wait for us, and prepared ourselves for the fight. We traveled in full armor and thus were ready right away. The dragon had already sent clouds of frost down, trying to hit one of us, and T'mara happily shouted "Finally I can use my '_YOL_' shout against a dragon!" just before she did what she had just announced. Of course the shout was not powerful enough to kill the dragon, but it seemed to hurt, specifically once I added some of my own fireballs to it. We alternated sending fire to the beast from different directions, until the dragon withdrew out of range for some time. We turned around to see from which direction it would come back, but the dragon managed to surprise us and blast a full force frost cloud directly at T'mara's back. Although my heart almost missed a beat when I saw that, I did not have a chance to check on her and find out how much she was hurt, as the dragon now threatened Jordis. I tried to distract the beast with another fireball and it actually turned its attention towards me, which gave Jordis a chance to attack with her sword. The frost dragon was now severely wounded and grounded, and Jordis and I attacked with our swords from different sides, until the dragon´s head fell down, and with a final "Dovahkiin!" shout it expired.

With great concern, I now could look how much T'mara was hurt. She seemed to be almost completely frost enclosed, or at least from neck to toes, so that she could still breath. With careful low energy fire blasts, I started to thaw her frost cage with one hand, while casting restoration on her with the other hand. Due to the extensive thickness of the frost cage, I had to interrupt the process a couple of times to replenish my magicka pool with potions, but finally got her fully free. Before she gained consciousness again, the dragon's soul passed into her body, and she finally opened her eyes, looked at me, and asked: "What happened?". Jordis and I explained, and T'mara seemed to be mostly fine again, but still very weak. As it turned out, the carriage driver had indeed waited not far away, and he had watched the fight in awe; he was quite happy to get us aboard again. Following the main road, we reached Rorikstead in the late afternoon for a night stop, and T'mara and I were able to get a room at the 'Frostfruit Inn'.

When we had dinner in the inn's main room soon after, quite a few of the town people were there as well, including Rorik, the town's name giver. He was in a mood to talk and told us that he had founded the town after he had been severely wounded in the Great War: "Look around you. Most of the lands you see are mine. Most of this I purchased while my comrades were fighting in the south, helping the Empire against the Aldmeri Dominion. Back then, nothing would grow here and so the land was worthless. Now, thanks to hard work and the gods´ blessings, our farms prosper."

Other sources had told me earlier that Rorikstead had existed already since the First Era, so that I was not so sure about Rorik´s claim; maybe he had just extended and improved the existing town rather than founded it. But it was good to sit and listen to some stories, even while seeing that some of the Nords were eyeing us strangely, seeing T'mara and myself drinking snowberry juice rather than mead or ale (Jordis had her mead, though). However, once the carriage driver came in and blew up our dragon fight into a long and colorful hero story, everybody looked at us in awe, and we were guests of honor. Consequently, it was getting close to midnight when we finally managed to retire to our room, and both of us were quickly asleep.

At breakfast, the carriage driver told us that he found one of his wagon´s axles almost broken, and he needed to spend the day fixing it, so that we would be able to continue one day later only. I told him not to worry, and that we were not in a hurry (fortunately, I had planned to arrive in Solitude about a week prior to the wedding, as I wanted to have some time to show the city to T'mara). We secured our room for another night and then wandered around lazily, despite the drizzle which had set in.

We visited the Shrine of Akatosh just north of the town, between some hills, and prayed for a while. Close to the Shrine we located a copy of the book 'Kolb and the Dragon'; we found a sheltered corner and had some fun reading the book together. The author really must have had an odd sense of humor, as the small sections in the book asked us to turn to specific other pages depending on decision we could make, like either climbing down a hill or visiting a tavern. Later in the day, with the drizzle being replaced by occasional rays of sunshine, we helped out the local farmer a little, aiding them in harvesting some wheat, cabbage, and potatoes. T'mara was surprised to see that the farmer, Ennis, was a Redguard, and his companion, Reldith, an Altmer. But this mix of heritages was not quite uncommon for Skyrim, although the harsh climate might be tough on a Redguard. Asking Reldith where she was selling all of the food T'mara was told: "In Whiterun, mostly. Ennis handles the business arrangements, but I know that he has a few purchasers who give us a fair price. Ennis prides himself on his shrewd business schemes. For my part, I´m far happier working with cattle and crops than with people." She also claimed: "Cityfolk might look down on us, but what´s wrong with farming? Everything we´ve got, we had to earn with our own sweat." I kind of agreed – I also preferred to live in a small rural community rather than a big city (not that Skyrim had any real big cities, but I had been to the Imperial City in my youth and knew that I did not want to live there at all).

When it was getting dark, T'mara and strolled through the town again, after we had had dinner at the inn before, to enjoy the clear air and many stars now blinking on the sky. An aurora started to form on the norther sky, and we stood there for some time enjoying the view, with T'mara´s back and head leaning against my chest. Suddenly Pammy, who I had conjured earlier, growled, and I noticed a dark clothed figure not far from us. The figure seemed to draw a dagger in preparation for an attack, and this was enough for Pammy to jump on him and get the attacker´s arm between her jaws, so that the knife was quickly dropped to the ground. As the unknown attacker refused to give up, but rather tried to pull another dagger, I quickly killed him with my sword. When looking more closely at the body, we found him to be dressed in some kind of assassin´s armor, and he had a note on him, saying that the Black Sacrament had been performed and he was supposed to kill the Dragonborn as ordered by the Dark Brotherhood.

T'mara looked shocked: "Why would the Dark Brotherhood want to kill me?" I replied: "Usually, they get hired by people. There must be somebody who wants you dead, maybe somebody who does not want the dragons stopped, or somebody who has a feud against you for some reason". I added that I was happy that Pammy was around; without her paying attention, T'mara might have got hurt, specifically as we suspected the assassin's daggers to be poisoned. "Now, with the assassin being dead, does this mean it´s over?" T'mara asked. "No", I replied, "once they notice that this one failed, they will send others – we will need to be careful". The young Khajiit looked unhappy and concerned now, which was fully understandable – who wouldn't when finding out that they were a target of the Dark Brotherhood? Once Jordis learned about the assassination attempt, she vowed to stay close to us at all times, at least until we had arrived in Solitude – she was angry about herself that she had allowed us to stroll around on the previous day without her guarding us. Naturally, seeing that T'mara and I were close to each other most of the time, our housecarls considered it their duty to watch and protect both of us.

Our carriage was fully repaired next day, and we could embark on our next leg to Solitude. The day started with blue sky and sunshine, and Bjorlam greeted us with: "Nice weather for a ride. Hope it lasts." The carriage took the same road we had been traveling south rather than north when we had come back from Ustengrav a few weeks ago, so that the area looked familiar. However, when we got close to the bridge south of the group of rocks called 'Robber´s Gorge', Bjorlam told us that bandits were said to inhabit this place again, to collect either a toll from people passing by or, if they were unwilling to pay, to simply kill them. Although there was a high bounty on the bandits set by the Jarl of Hjaalmarch, nobody had claimed it yet, and the carriage drivers had some kind of unspoken agreement with bandit groups – as they provided an ongoing 'supply' of paying citizens, they (as opposed to their passengers) were not molested. However, the driver nonetheless wanted to warn us.

Naturally, Jordis, T'mara and I were not really willing to tolerate such a scheme. We thanked the driver for the warning, and quickly decided to 'have a word' with the bandits. For that purpose, Jordis stayed with the carriage for now, while the Khajiit and I moved east from the bridge quickly; we followed the riverbank and turned north soon, climbing up some hills. As expected, we found a proper hill overlooking the gorge, which provided excellent positions to shoot down with bow and crossbow. Jordis could see our signals from below and walked up the road, claiming to be a single, but well armored and equipped traveler (the carriage had stopped before it could be seen by the bandits). As expected, two bandits came out of the encampment and stepped on the wooden bridge controlling the road, starting to challenge Jordis. We used the opportunity to kill them quickly with T'mara´s bow and my crossbow. The other bandits had not noticed their comrades´ fate for a minute or two, but finally more bandits came out, just to be greeted the same way. The bandit chief, however, was suspecting some foul play, and he appeared under cover with (what we hoped) his remaining three bandits. Time to finish up – I sent Pammy down to help Jordis, and T'mara and I continued to shoot down arrows and bolts to keep most bandits under cover. Although the bandit chief turned out to be a formidable opponent, he did not really have a chance against an organized team like us and was eventually defeated. We did not want to take the time to check out all structures and thus only looted the chief and the hut at the top of the fort, which gave us plenty of things to take, plus recovered most of our arrows and bolts. This being done, we called to Bjorlam, the carriage driver and continued our travel to Dragon Bridge.

From there on we managed to proceed unhindered, getting to the bridge leading to the village of Dragons Bridge an hour or so before sunset. Just before crossing the bridge, T'mara looked in awe and asked the driver to stop for a few minutes. She looked at the bridge for a while and asked "Who built this bridge? This is quite formidable!" I suggested that we could, after getting a room at the local inn, look at the bridge and the vista again, as Bjorlam wanted to tend his horses. Consequently, we had Bjorlam drive us into town and quickly entered the 'Four Shields Tavern' to pay for a room and order dinner. As dinner was going to be ready at sunset only, we had one hour to spend and went for a walk; this time Jordis of course insisted to walk with us. We strolled back to the bridge, and I pointed out the arch of Solitude, which was visible in the distance, as our tomorrow's goal. When we slowly walked back to the inn some time later, I explained that I did not know this town to have something like a general store, so that we wouldn't be able to sell some of our acquired loot here; we'd have to do this in Solitude later on.

After dinner we went for another walk through town, and the dark and clear sky was now illuminated by one of the most impressive auroras I had yet seen. We watched this from the bridge; T'mara leaned into me, and whispered after some time: "Skyrim is really beautiful. For a long time I have missed the warm sands of Elsweyr, but now I almost start to feel at home here" and, looking up at me, added "… with you." Encouraged by her words, I tentatively wrapped both of my arms around her upper body (her waist was too low for me when we were both standing, myself being more than one head taller than her), careful not to touch her breasts, and she started to purr – I guess that she liked it. Jordis looked at us and smiled, apparently approving our closeness. A perfect end for an exciting day.


	19. Chapter 19 - Meridia's beacon

**Chapter 19: Meridia's beacon**

_[11th - 13th of Sun's Dusk 4E 201]_

While we had intended to travel to Solitude today and had started in Bjorlam's carriage in this direction in the morning after a healthy breakfast (with milk, of course), T'mara suddenly asked the driver to stop after a drive of less than one hour. She looked, as in awe, slightly to the left, where the top of a huge statue could be seen just above the trees and hills, in a gap between the low hanging clouds. Jordis was quick to explain that we were looking at the statue of Meridia, the Daedric Prince (or probably rather Princess) of Life; I had been told that she almost always appeared as a beautiful woman.

Although my Khajiit companion knew quite well that we wanted to get to Solitude, she asked nonetheless: "Timotheus, although this is probably a detour, can we please visit the statue of Meridia? I could almost feel her talking to me and calling me to her...". Yes, Daedric princes sometimes called acolytes and disciples to them, and although I knew to better avoid some Daedric princes (such as Mehrunes Dagon), Meridia had a pretty good reputation, and visiting her statue should not hurt. Thus I told my companions that we could indulge this wish, and so we said Goodbye to Bjorlam and his horses, paid him for the full day nonetheless, and turned left from the main road.

The path started to ascend and got narrower; the trees on both sides moved closer together until they almost formed a roof far above our heads, which we did not mind at all, as some rain had started to come down. After twenty minutes of walking up the side path, a set of stairs started on the right side, and it looked like it was leading up to the statue, which we could soon see was placed on top of a huge stone building. T'mara was eager to get up to the top, and Jordis and myself followed up the stairs a little slower, so that the Khajiit was already kneeling directly in front of the statue, completely disregarding the rain, when we arrived at the very top; we decided to keep back and let her handle this.

It appeared that T'mara had a lengthy conversation with Meridia, as we needed to wait for almost half an hour later until the kneeling figure rose again. She slowly turned to us, as if in trance, and, in a dream like voice told us that she needed to retrieve Meridia's Beacon from the place it had been brought to. Meridia had revealed to her that this place was called 'Shadowgreen Cavern' and had hinted that this place was not too far from here. Jordis immediately offered that she knew this cavern to be located northwest of Solitude and could be reached from there in half a day or so. T'mara insisted that this quest was something she felt obliged to do, and I understood. "Well, it is still early in the day", I suggested, while looking at my map, "we could as well continue this side path, retrieve the beacon from the cave and, if this does not take too long, get to Solitude in the evening. After we have claimed our room and completed some chores there, we should still be able to find the time to bring the beacon back to Meridia prior to the wedding event – what do you think?". T'mara seemed to like that plan: "Yes, please!" and Jordis agreed, too.

We quickly descended the steep path on the north side of the building to meet the road coming from the West, to follow it in northeasterly direction. We had hoped that this road would directly lead us to our target, but maybe my map was not precise enough, or maybe we missed a turn in the dense clouds, as we had to make a significant detour west again to get down to almost sea level before we could hope to find the cave. As if this wasn't enough, the unmistakable sound of dragon wings was in the air, just as we had arrived at the coast close to a place called 'Ravenscar Hollow'. I sighed, as I was eager to reach the cave before dark, but T'mara announced that she needed a few more dragon souls to unlock more shouts anyway. After all, what was another dragon for a team of experienced dragon slayers?

I guess that the dragon did not share this sentiment, and as the fight had already lasted more than ten minutes with dozens of arrows and bolts spent, all failing to bring the dragon down (proper targeting was difficult in the rain), even T'mara got a little more sober and realistic. However, she was far from discouraged, and when the dragon got reasonable close to her, she shouted '_FUS RO DAH!_', which threw the beast against the stone cliff it was just about to pass. It was not enough to kill it off, but the dragon was visible dazed and slowed down – it shouted 'Dovahkiin!' almost as a complaint. Naturally, we used this opportunity to get closer, and when I saw some gaps in the scales close to the head, I quickly jumped onto the frost dragon's head and rammed my fire enchanted greatsword into one of those wounds, up to the hilt. The dragon roared and threw his head around; only by tightly clasping my sword handle with both hands I was able to avoid being thrown off. Jordis also managed to ram her sword into a similar wound on the dragons´s belly, and the beast was done for. Sweating, I climbed down and joined my companions, watching the swirling dragon soul rushing into T'mara as usual; while this again brought her down to her knees, she smiled.

Darkness was approaching now, but even in the dusk we were able to find out the way to our target, carefully passing a few horker and ignoring the slow mudcrabs. There was some kind of abandoned camp outside of the cave, and as daylight was fading, we decided to spend the night here, guarded by my familiar, Pammy, of course. Lacking the time and proper mood for hunting, we ate a quick cold supper and soon retired to our tents and bedrolls. Naturally, T'mara and I shared a tent, and both due to the cold climate and to the dragon soul she had recently absorbed she needed some extra cuddling, which I was happy to provide.

The next morning saw us entering the cave just at sunrise, again having Pammy with us. T'mara was quite eager to find Meridia´s Beacon, but I warned her that we did not know what kind of enemies would expect us inside, so that we should proceed with caution.

Right after entering 'Shadowgreen Cavern', passing the icicles which framed the exterior part, a different world greeted us, and we all stopped to admire it. The harsh daylight outside, reflected by the ocean waves, was replaced by dim greenish cave light, enhanced with isolated sun rays passing through some holes in the ceiling high above us. The bare tundra outside with only sparse vegetation was replaced by lush plants (mostly mountain flowers and mushrooms, as it looked like) and the few animals visible outside, a few horker and foxes, replaced by a multitude of butterflies, luna moths, torchbugs, and a few rabbits. The scenery reminded me of Eldergleam Sanctuary, and I somehow felt peace coming over me. I guess that T'mara felt the same, as she was leaning into me and purring, and her eyes looked almost like she was in a dream. Even Jordis, who was always very practical, admitted that this cave was beautiful.

It probably took us half an hour before we remembered that we had a mission, and we carefully stepped deeper into the cave. A narrow path close to a small stream lead us to a rock enclosed pond, and we could see a few salmon swimming in it. Looking to the east, we noticed a huge grey stone pillar which had partially fallen over, and the pathway deeper into the cavern ran right underneath this pillar. We followed it slowly, and I used the opportunity to pick some flowers and mushrooms and store them in my apothecary satchel. The center of the cave was dominated by some kind of hill, and we all agreed that it would be good to climb it, if possible, for a better overview at least. Fortunately, a narrow path seemed to run around it and provide access to the plateau we suspected at the top, so that we started to follow it.

However, still almost at the bottom, two spriggans emerged from between the trees and started to attack us. Knowing that those creatures were sensitive to fire, I immediately cast powerful fireballs into them, which slowed them down enough for our swords to kill them off. T'mara looked a little sad and said that it was a pity to kill those beautiful creatures, as they seemed to be aligned with nature. I agreed: "Yes, I feel the same. Actually, I wish that my illusion spell casting was good enough to cast the 'pacify' spell, which is supposed to make more animals calm and forget about their plan of attack, for a minute or so. Alas, this is beyond my capability".

Further up the path, we found a few glowing mushrooms and a few more spriggans, before we finally reached the top. On the plateau there was a tiny pond with an even more tiny island in the center, and from that island a large tree seemed to grow reaching out of the cavern through one of the gaps in the cave roof. A chest on the island actually held Meridia´s Beacon together with a few gems, so that we had achieved our goal here. However, none of us was ready to leave, and we decided to spend more time in this beautiful cavern. Looking around, we also found two nirnroot plants, and T'mara asked us to not pick them yet as she wanted to listen to their singing. I recalled that I once had read a book on nirnroots, written by the famous alchemist Sinderion (who had had his lab in Skingrad, I believe) about 200 years ago. He had stated that it was not possible to grow nirnroot, although I had heard rumors about a particularly gifted farmer who had managed it nonetheless. In a hidden corner I noticed a small patch of moonstone ore, which I quickly mined, as I planned to improve my glass smithing skills.

While we could have easily spent days in this amazing cavern, we decide to come back at another time and moved towards the exit, to have a chance to reach Solitude before the end of the day. After fighting a dragon just the day before, we were happy to reach the big city without a further incident. Jordis was sent to the city barracks, where she still was entitled to a bed, and we agreed to meet outside of the inn after breakfast tomorrow.

When the first sun rays tickled our noses, T'mara and I woke up in our very comfortable bed (it had turned out that there was one big bed rather than two smaller ones in our room, but by now we actually preferred it that way) in our room on the upper floor of 'The Winking Skeever', feeling well rested. Jordis met us after breakfast, as agreed, and I guided my two ladies to the 'Radiant Raiment' store, which had the finest clothes and dresses in Solitude and maybe entire Skyrim. I insisted that both of them get a new and formal dress for the wedding, and decided to leave them for that. Going to the 'Bits and Pieces' as well as to 'Angeline´s Aromatics', I was able to sell most of our accumulated loot, and when I was done a couple of hours later, I found Jordis and T'mara just leaving the clothes store, not showing me what they had inside their bags. Jordis only hinted with a big smile that my Thane account was going to be debited with a significant amount of septims.

For lunch we were invited to the Bard's College here in Solitude. Giraud Gemane, a Breton and their Dean of History, had been a good friend of mine for some years. I had frequently met him to exchange notes on history (which also was a little bit of a hobby of mine). About two years ago, when the traditional 'Burning of King Olaf' event was to be stopped by the High King, I had retrieved an ancient book supposedly written by said King Olaf for Giraud and Viarmo, the headmaster, from a tomb called 'Dead Man's Respite' southwest of Morthal. Although that book had proven to be less helpful than expected – it even raised doubts about Olaf´s integrity and honor – the Bards had been able to conduct a performance based on it at the Blue Palace, which convinced the High King that the festival of Olaf's burning needed to be continued. Since that time I had been kind of an honorary college member, and I always met them when I was in Solitude. The college had their own chef, and although Bendt was not talking much, he was an excellent cook, and my two ladies and I really enjoyed our meal.

Giraud, when asked by T'mara what he was doing, summarized for her: "My position, Dean of History, actually covers a wide range of subjects. I teach poetry, writing, history, and the finer points of court life.", and he entertained us with a few stories from the college's history, and he also said that the Bard's College always welcomed adventurers providing some services, such as retrieving instruments or books some college member had lost or which had been stolen. However, as the college was not able to provide large payments for those tasks, volunteers were rare. We promised to get back to him at a later time, if possible, but that we had other tasks on our list right now. Just before we left the college, Viarmo, the headmaster, joined us for a few minutes, and asked Giraud: "How are your students coming along?" Giraud joked: "Bunch of distractions, if you ask me. They just interrupt the rest of my work." Viarmo, not really getting that this was a joke, corrected him sternly: "I'm sorry to break it to you, Giraud, but students are an unfortunate necessity of a college. Do try to persevere." Giraud smiled and admitted: "Yes, of course, Headmaster."

In the afternoon we went to the Blue Palace, and I introduced T'mara to Jarl Elisif. As practically everybody else the Jarl was quite surprised to see a Khajiit revealed as Dragonborn, but she insisted to talk to her alone for about one hour. Later on, when Jordis and I had picked her up again, we visited the market and just strolled around, meeting and greeting people. Before dusk we also walked out to the Solitude Lighthouse, abut half an hour north of the city. To T'mara´s delight, we found the keeper to be a Khajiit with name Ma'zaka. He was happy to see us: "Oh my, old Ma'zaka has a visitor!" and told us that he lived here and almost never left the place, as the maintenance of the lighthouse and the fire was his only and very important responsibility – the light allowed ships to safely navigate the coast around here.

We enjoyed the view at the Sea of Ghosts and some large icebergs until dusk before we finally returned to the city.


	20. Chapter 20 - Meridia's temple

**Chapter 20: Meridia's temple**

_[14th / 15th of Sun's Dusk 4E 201]_

The next morning found T'mara and me again having breakfast in the inn's main room. While we were enjoying our pancakes, I noticed a female Khajiit at the next table looking at us curiously. She had an armor which looked suspiciously like Thieves Guild attire; I was not sure, but I had seen Brynjolf, whom I knew to be a member of that guild (and, last time I had checked, second-in-command), in Riften in very similar armor several times before. Soon she rose and came over to our table. While I was already keeping my hands close to my coin pouch (although I knew that the guild should not bother me), she looked at T'mara and asked: "T'mara, is that really you?" My young companion had not noticed her before and only now looked up: "M'lissa, I cannot believe it – you are here in Skyrim? Sit down with us, please!" T'mara introduced us and told me that this was a cousin of hers, about five years older than her, and one of her childhood companions. After we had exchanged a few words, I suspected that the two girls might want to talk without somebody else present and excused myself – T'mara and I agreed to meet for lunch later on.

Well, that was interesting. I wondered if my Thieves Guild suspicion was going to be correct, and how much T'mara would tell me. I spent the next few hours talking to some friends at Castle Dour and arranged lunch with my childhood friend Hadvar, who was by now an Imperial captain. It was kind of odd that I counted both a Stormcloak officer (Ralof) and an Imperial officer (Hadvar) as my friends, but we had all been very good friends in our late teen years in Riverwood, right after I had moved from Cyrodiil to Riverside Lodge. The friendship only got strained when the civil war had started in earnest after High King Torygg´s murder/challenge; it had been kind of dormant since a few years ago.

Anyway, at noon time I picked up T'mara for lunch with Hadvar. I had asked Hadvar before to be nice and prepared for bad feelings from T'mara, as he had been part of the execution team at Helgen (at that time not yet being a captain). Of course, he had pointed out to his captain that the Khajiit was not on the list and potentially innocent, but that had not changed anything. Fortunately, he showed himself from his best side, even apologized for the events at Helgen, and proved that an Imperial officer could be a gentleman, if he wanted to. T'mara got more relaxed, and we got along pretty well. Naturally, with Hadvar present, we could not talk about her cousin, and thus, after lunch and saying seeing Hadvar off, I guided her to the garden at the Blue Palace, where we found a bench to sit on and talk.

Of course I was curious: "T'mara, I hope that you had a good time talking to your cousin. I need to tell you that her armor looks like Thieves Guild armor – is that true?" The Khajiit nodded: "Well, it is kind of obvious, isn't it? She was already very agile and sneaky as a kid, and I had heard that she was planing to join the Thieves Guild in Cyrodiil. According to what she mentioned, she actually did, but soon got into a serious disagreement with some guild colleagues, as she refused to do some jobs which she thought to be unjustified. Thus she tried her luck in Skyrim, and she is currently working with the guild in Riften, trying to establish herself here. So far this has been working quite well, although the Guild Master seems not to like her, and she is here in Solitude on a job. Naturally, she can't tell any details on that."

T'mara continued: "Timotheus, please, do not judge her just by her occupation. I also do not like stealing at all, but according to what I head from her, the guild does discriminate and does not take all jobs. Furthermore, she is my cousin after all, and I really like her. She invited us to see her in Riften when we have a chance to get there." With that, she looked up at me pleadingly.

"Well", I responded, "I usually try to avoid judging people before I really know them. Why don't you give me some time to actually get to know your cousin M'lissa better, and I'll reserve judgment until then? Let's try to find time for a trip to Riften sometime in the next few months. Besides, I happen to know the second-in-command of the guild, and he is almost a friend of mine. He and I even have some kind of business agreement running.", I explained. "Whenever I find out that somebody exploits others in an amoral way, but somehow manages to be above the law or avoiding the law, I send a note to Riften, and usually that person finds him- or herself much less wealthy soon after. As a compensation, I, my friends and housecarls, and my houses are off limits for the guild. In addition, we sometimes exchange information on all kind of news in Skyrim." Having said this, I was rewarded by a quick kiss on the cheek and a happy smile. "You know, I really really like you", she smiled and leaned her head against my shoulder. "Likewise", I whispered back.

This evening, when we went to bed, T'mara put the two blankets which we always had between and around us, aside. She cuddled with me, moved her body almost on top of me, and added a blanket on top and around both of us. A few minutes later she started purring, indicating that she liked it. As a matter of fact, I liked it too, as we only had our thin nightclothes separating out bodies, but my private parts started to react. I was quite sure that I was going to be unable to sleep in that position – besides, I was terribly afraid that she might notice my reaction and ask very embarrassing questions which I was not ready to answer. Thus I told her, trying to circumvent the real issue somewhat: "While I really like to have you that close to me, I am afraid that I may not be able to sleep at all when my body get´s that much attention." She looked at me with raised brows, and I briefly wondered if her body felt the same way, but did not dare to raise this particular question. Rather I suggested: "Maybe we can have the usual blankets between us at least from the waist down?" She agreed and we changed the situation accordingly. While my body was still somewhat 'distracted' by feeling her tiny breasts more clearly than usual, I was actually able to get to sleep, although only after a longer time of daydreaming.

As we still had a few days until the wedding was to take place, T'mara was eager to continue her task as Meridia's champion and bring back the beacon to her. Thus, we decided to humor her and travel to the statue today. From the South Gate of Solitude it only took us less than two hours of walking to get to the stairs, and T'mara eagerly started to mount them.

When Jordis and myself got to the top, T'mara was already bowing to put the beacon into some kind of bowl, and suddenly there was a big ray of light which seemed to raise T'mara up in the air. While I was concerned at first, I quickly concluded that this must be Meridia's way to communicate with her champion. Jordis and I sat down and waited for T'mara to get back.

When T'mara was lowered down to the ground eventually, she immediately started to babble, and I could just get a few words like "temple", "light", and "clean". I told her to calm down first, and finally she was able to give us a report of what she was to do. Apparently, a necromancer called Malkoran had defiled her temple (the Kilkreath temple, on which we were standing), using her (Meridia´s) power to do evil things. T'mara was asked to clean the temple, guide Meridia´s light through it, and kill Malkoran. Naturally, we weren't going to have her do this on her own. Thus, all three of us proceeded to the temple's entrance, which Meridia had already unlocked for us.

Right after entering we noticed a corpse on the ground. A few more corpses, some traps, a few locked doors (good practice for lockpicking) and some treasures later we came into a larger room, and we could see a ray of light shine through the ceiling, right on some kind of pedestal. Looking closer we found that this pedestal could be moved a little – T'mara got to work, and after a few attempts managed to align the pedestal in a way to allow the light to be reflected properly and shine further. T'mara looked happy: "I guess that's the way it works – each time we find Meridia´s light shining on one of those pedestals and not any further, we have to align the pedestal to guide the light to the next step." Seeing a couple of shadows approaching, I added: "Which also wakes up some enemies, by the way". After quickly disposing of the two shades, T'mara explained that Meridia had also told her about 'Corrupted Shades', created by the evil necromancer Malkoran from killed soldiers of the ongoing civil war.

The light had apparently opened the door to the next room, which had allowed the shades to get to us, but also permitted us access to the next area. This one again had a pedestal which needed to be aligned, which consequently opened up access to a passage. Following it through a few turns, it opened up into a quite large room and this had several pedestals on different levels and balconies. We had to spend some time and effort to find out which pedestal we had to activate in which order, but we found out that there was an easy scheme we could follow – we only had to look at Meridia´s light and see on which pedestal it stopped; this one would be the one to be aligned in a way to have the light reflected either to another pedestal or out of the room. Again, some corrupted shades try to interfere with our work, and we found a number of desecrated corpses, which for some reason all had a number of septims on them. "You know", T'mara commented after looting yet another corpse, "with the gold from all of those corpses we might get rich!".

With all of the pedestals being aligned the next door opened, and this one lead outside to some kind of balcony outside of the temple. Looking down, we could see the road from Dragon Bridge to Solitude and part of the Karth river. The balcony had a number of gem like items on statues reflecting the light further, and it looked like we now had to move on to an adjacent building. This we did, being told by T'mara that we were now entering 'Kilkreath Ruins'.

The first room there was another large hall with multiple levels and, of course, more of the corrupted shades. This time, I sent Pammy ahead to take care of the shades. Getting to the various turned out to be a little tricky, as a series of levers and keys needed to be found, but we finally managed. However, T'mara was getting a little bit ahead of herself and not paying enough attention; when opening one of the doors, she failed to notice the trap, and a large spear caught her in the side. The Khajiit cried and fell down. Jordis and I were at her side moments later, and after deactivating the trap, we looked at the wound. The spearhead was embedded quite deeply, and we saw that it would not be easy to get it out again. As the spear's tip was actually closer to T'mara´s back, we did not have much of a choice – we would need to push it through her body. As T'mara was still unconscious, we got to work right away – Jordis pushed the spear and I got ready with restoration magic.

A couple of hours later T'mara opened her eyes again, just to see two pair of worried eyes observing her. "What happened? Where am I?" she asked with a timid voice. "We are still in the temple of Meridia", I replied, "and you were hit by a nasty spear trap. I think that I have mostly managed to close the wound, but you should drink a healing and stamina potion now that you're awake again." She sighed as she remembered being hit by the trap, swallowed the two potions handed to her and closed her eyes again. I shuddered while thinking what we'd do if we were in a different world without magic and potions.

Another hour later the Khajiit was more or less fit again, and we moved on to the next room; soon we were about the enter the next section of the temple, which T'mara identified as 'Kilkreath Catacombs'. I suspected that we might be getting close to finding the final villain, Malkoran, and I turned out to be right on that. After adjusting another pedestal, a door opened into a large hall, and when we had cautiously entered, the door closed behind us and locked itself. I had just time for an "Oh, Oh" before a dark robed figure rose at the far end of the hall, and a large number of corrupted shades, something like eight or nine, suddenly appeared in various locations. The robed figure immediately started to cast powerful frost spells, but as this guy was quite far away, we had plenty of time to dodge or find cover. Our improvised plan of battle had myself casting fireballs at the robed figure we suspected to be Malkoran, Jordis and Pammy taking care of the shades, and T'mara, who was not yet operating at peak efficiency again, shouting where appropriate. It turned out that this Malkoran was quite tough, and although I alternated between powerful fireballs and crossbow bolts of exploding fire, he was not going down. As Jordis and Pammy had decimated the shades, T'mara could also focus on Malkoran, and did her 'Unrelenting Force' shout at full power, which made Malkoran being blast against the wall behind him. Right away I ran forward, and before the villain had a chance to get up again, ran my greatsword of fire through his chest, almost to the hilt. Releasing my grip on the sword I jumped back, and Malkoran still managed to get up, though apparently weakened and slower. More fireballs followed from my side, I got almost caught by one of his frost patches, and finally Pammy, who had defeated her last shade, joined me and attacked Malkoran from the other side. T'mara had by now also approached and swiftly threw her daggers, which finally had him expire. T'mara looked as if in trance for a minute, before she moved towards a pedestal which had a sword and a ring on it. When she took both items, she was lifted into the air and was suddenly gone. "I guess", I offered, "that Meridia wants to have another private chat with here. Let's check for loot and for a back door."

Soon after Jordis and I met T'mara again at Meridia´s statue she told us that Meridia was now happy with her, as she had completed the task. As a reward, Meridia had given her the sword 'Dawnbreaker', a powerful sword which a fire enchantment, and the 'Ring of the Khajiiti', which fortified her sneaking and granted partial invisibility. She liked the ring but was not so sure about the sword, as a sword was one of the weapons she was not really familiar with. But a Daedra´s gift was not to be rejected.

[Author's Note: I think that the 'Ring of the Khajiiti' only exists in TES IV and not here, but it seems to fit, so that I adopted it]


	21. Chapter 21 - Vittoria Vici's wedding

**Chapter 21: Vittoria Vici's wedding**

_[16th - 18th of Sun's Dusk 4E 201]_

The wedding was scheduled for day after tomorrow. We had returned to Solitude in the night before, well after sunset, and slept until sunrise. Jordis was at Castle Dour helping the guards to check the security for the event, and we did not have any specific plans for the day. We spent the morning doing some more shopping and selling some of the loot from Kilkreath, to find ourselves ambling around the city after lunch. While enjoying the scenery from a place close to the city walls, T'mara suddenly said: "I thought that the lighthouse fire is on all day and night." I replied: "Yes it is", knowing that they considered this easier to do than to douse it each morning and relight each evening. "But", the Khajiit said, "it does not appear to be on right now". Hearing that I also looked north and indeed saw that the lighthouse was dark; the fire should have been visible clearly in bright daylight, even more on a cloudy day like today. "That look's odd", I said, getting concerned, "let's check with the guards." We quickly moved into Castle Dour's courtyard, where we found the guard captain – a captain Aldis – already discussing the situation with Jordis and some other officers. I offered my suspicion: "Just two days prior to the wedding, with some more ships expected soon, this is unlikely to be a coincidence. I'd guess that pirates have extinguished the fire and now hope that some ships will run into cliffs for easy plundering next night."

The guard captain nodded, and asked: "Which cliffs would they use for a trap?" Jordis suggested: "Typically the water currents here tend to drive ships east, and I would wait close to the wreck of the 'Icerunner', which fared a similar fate decades ago." - "What about that, captain", I made a plan. "T'mara and I could go to the lighthouse, find the keeper and see if he was harmed, and relight the fire with fire spells. You may want to send a small detachment of men north on this side to check out the area between the lighthouse and 'Broken Oar Grotto', while you take the majority of your men and Jordis to the other side of the river and carefully search the area around the wreck of the 'Icerunner'". The captain liked my idea, and we got going; he and his large group went down towards the eastern exit of the skyway. Officially, the eastern side of the river already belonged to Hjaalmarch hold, but there was no time to contact the Jarl in Morthal. T'mara and I went with the smaller group of guards to the shortcut down to the river bank on the west side. Normally my housecarl would have objected the idea of getting separated from her Thane like that, but Jordis knew me good enough to not say anything.

Half an hour of fast walking brought us to the lighthouse, where we soon found Ma'zaka, the keeper, bound and gagged in his room. Judged by a large bruise on his forehead he had also been clubbed, and it took some time, after we had freed him, to get him ready to talk. Finally T'mara had coaxed him back to consciousness, and he reported that a group of bandits had attacked, and that he had been bound, gagged, and hit before he could really do something. At this point we suggested that the small group of guards might want to patrol the roads, and they left. When we told Ma'zaka about the fire being out, he got quite antsy, and we all moved to the top platform. Apparently, the bandits had done a thorough job, dousing the fire with lots of water (which they must have brought up in buckets). The keeper claimed that it would take him days to get the fire running again, but I had a better idea. Slowly walking around the big pile of firewood, I cast a very low level spell of continuous fire, which I knew I could maintain for many minutes. The heat was not quite high enough to get the wood burning yet, but good enough to vaporize most of the water it found. While I was doing that, Ma'zaka, who had sufficiently recovered, entertained us with some stories of his earlier life, starting like that: "Oh, for the salt spray, the creek of the mast, and the clash of sabers. Those were the days..."

Twenty minutes later I finally ran out of magicka and had to sit down for a while to recover. I suggested: "T'mara, most of the water should now be gone. Would you mind shouting '_YOL_' at the pile to see if this gets it burning again?" She did so, and indeed the fire started. It was still a little weaker than normal, and some more smoke than usual came out, but Ma'zaka insisted that this was good enough and he would easily be able to take over from here. He also added that he appreciated our help a lot, and that he would be sure to tell the guards about it. Before we left, I inquired about the amount of firewood available. Ma'zaka told us that he had a big room further down with lots of wood, so there was no need to worry.

Back in Solitude, we found the guards with Aldis and Jordis had not yet returned, which did not surprise me at all. They would probably continue to search for the pirates through the night, whereas T'mara and I were looking forward to our soft bed in 'The Winking Skeever'. Just before retiring to our room, we ran into M'lissa again. Apparently she had completed whatever her task had been (I had suspected that she was also here to take advantage of the wedding, but it looked like that suspicion was not justified). She again asked us to come to Riften soon and visit her, and while we could not commit to a particular date, we certainly promised to keep the invitation in mind. Before she left, she said: "By the way, do you know that one?" T'mara started to groan, but did not say anything. M'lissa continued: "Somewhere in the Jerall Mountains there was a cave, and the cave was haunted. Many brave adventurers dared to enter, but to each of them a terrifying big ghost appeared, with a single red eye, shouting 'I am the ghost with the red eye!', which made all of them run out and never come back. Finally the Hero of Kvatch came and entered. He also encountered the ghost saying its phrase, but the hero replied in a threatening voice: 'If you are not quiet right away, you will soon be known as the ghost with the blue eye!'" M'lissa laughed, and I smiled as well. T'mara just shook her head, and I guessed that she had heard other jokes from M'lissa before, maybe not all of them really funny. I did not really think that my ancestor, the Hero of Kvatch, had actually done something like that, but it was a nice joke.

Later in the night we woke up quite abruptly from a strange cracking noise. Looking around, I could not see much, as it was dark in the room, but T'mara had her Night-Eye ability. She told me that Pammy, who I had conjured to guard us even in the inn's room, had killed a person who had apparently climbed in through the window and had been about to sneak in our direction with knife in hand. She also reported that the person wore a Dark Brotherhood armor. I guess that was the second attempt, and I was quite scared to find out that even a room at an inn was not safe. On the other hand, I was so glad that I had Pammy, and we both gave her an extra big and long hug.

The big day of the wedding ceremony between Vittoria Vici, daughter of Alexia Vici and cousin of Emperor Titus Mede II himself, and Asgeir Snow-Shod, originally from Riften and a Stormcloak supporter, had finally begun. Around noon time of the previous day, Jordis had reported back, and they had actually found and eliminated the pirates and freed the ship's crew, not very far from where they had started to search.

On the previous day we also had had a chance to talk to Vittoria briefly, and I had asked about her relationship to the Emperor. Her reply had been like this: "Some say I got my position because my cousin is the Emperor. Nonsense. The man's given me nothing. He can't even be bothered to attend my wedding." We had also talked to Asgeir, but he had not been in a very talkative mood – he claimed to still mourn the loss of his younger sister Lilja, who had originally been trained as priestess of Talos, but later joined the Stormcloaks as Battle Maiden. While she had been supposed to heal soldiers rather than lift a sword herself, a particular skirmish between Imperials and Stormcloaks claimed her life nonetheless.

Anyway, the wedding between Vittoria and Arngeir had significant political implications, as the bride was an Imperial and also supported the Imperial side in Skyrim, whereas the groom was a Stormcloak. Some hoped that the wedding might make a truce or even peace more likely, while other might want to exploit the situation. Specifically, the guard suspected some kind of crime very likely to happen on the day of the wedding, probably an assassination on an important person. Thus, the guard captain of Solitude had, supported by General Tullius, planned for weeks to make sure every stage of the ceremony was properly guarded and that no options were available for a potential assassin. In addition, Captain Aldis had asked the Dragonborn and me to also keep our eyes open.

The day started with a glorious sunrise to a cloudless sky, which we considered to be a good omen. Naturally, everybody was a little excited, and the noise level in the inn's hall, where we had breakfast, was somewhat more intense than usual.

Right after breakfast T'mara and I joined Aldis and Jordis in the Temple of the Divines, Skyrim's main temple, where the ceremony was supposed to get started about two hours later. Yesterday a team of guards had already made sure that no potential positions were available for a would-be assassin to operate a bow from. All access ways to the temple's interior on ground level and above were either blocked or guarded, and the balcony where the couple was supposed to greet the guests from was double checked for any sign of a trap. It looked like nothing was left to chance, but, as it turned out later, we had nonetheless missed something. After looking around, I noticed that T'mara had changed after breakfast, and I found her to be dressed in a wonderful light blue and yellow dress, apparently custom made for her (after all, she had been shopping at the 'Radiant Raiment' store a few day ago), which complemented her dark blueish fur color perfectly. It also highlighted her curves much more than the armor she usually wore, and for a few minutes I probably just stared at her, before she noticed that and acknowledged me with a smile. Her sparkling eyes clearly told me that she did not mind me admiring and ogling her like that at all.

Right on time the couple, the priest, and the guests had arrived, and Vittoria and Arngeir said their vows in a pompous, but beautiful ceremony in the temple. Right after the formal part, they both climbed up to the balcony to address the guests, and Vittoria started: "Honored guests. I just wanted to take this time to thank you all for being here. To thank you for sharing this wonderfully happy day with myself, and my new husband. Please, enjoy the festivities! This is a day of peace and happiness, when Imperials and Stormcloaks join together, as equals!" Wow, that was a kind of forward statement, almost like declaring the civil war over. Her new husband started to also deliver a few sentences, when T'mara and I observed something which looked very scary. Around the temple, there were a number of old looking statues arranged all around, and one of them, a gargoyle of kinds, was right above the balcony the newlyweds were standing on. Right as Vittoria had ended her brief speech and Arngeir was about to start talking, this particular gargoyle started to move and vibrate, and while we were looking, it slowly seemed to bend forward and start to fall. Almost with panic I noticed that it was likely to crash on the balcony and kill Vittoria and Arngeir on impact within seconds, and I had no idea how to prevent that – the two of them had not even noticed the deadly danger yet!

Fortunately, T'mara had observed the critical situation as well, and she did what we recognized later on as the only promising option – very quickly she shouted '_FUS RO DAH!_' at the falling gargoyle, hitting it right on the spot when it was still a few meters above the balcony, mostly pulverizing it (and damaging the wall behind it, of course). The entire temple fell silent and everybody was stunned. A few guests started to voice suspicions that the Dragonborn was an assassin, but fortunately some important people, including the captain of the guard and General Tullius, had noticed the precarious situation and the Dragonborn´s approach. After the priests had checked that the bridal couple was still alive – it turned out that they only had a few bruises from larger debris, and they coughed from the dust – General Tullius stepped on the balcony and announced: "People of Skyrim, honored guests, we have just seen a horrible accident to almost kill our two newlyweds today, as a statue came crashing down right towards this balcony. Only the quick reaction of the Dragonborn, vaporizing the statue with her Thu'um, prevented casualties."

Once he had completed his statement, T'mara was acknowledged with a long applause, and she looked a little embarrassed. At this time, the ceremony could continue, and a huge amount of food and drinks was served in the courtyard outside. T'mara and I also helped ourselves to some nourishment, and T'mara looked a little worn out; she admitted that the events had excited her, and that she needed some time to rest her nerves. We found a quiet corner of the courtyard to sit down with our food and relax, at least form some time. Naturally, later on we couldn't avoid talking to various people. Myself being a Thane of Solitude and herself being the Dragonborn, we were just too important to be ignored for long (being famous is not always that great). We found a chance to also exchange news with Jordis. She told us that, after extensive searching and getting assistance from some mages, a suspicious person was caught when trying to get away from the temple. That person had somehow gained access to the temple's upper levels, close enough to the balcony, and the person had tried to elude without detection with the help of muffle and invisibility spells. Only with the help of mages, casting spells of 'Detect Life', had the guards been able to find the man and take him into custody. Based on the man's armor and some notes found on him, they strongly suspected him to be a member of the Dark Brotherhood, and it looked like the statue falling down had not been an accident at all.

After trying to digest this information, I really developed a hatred against this organization. Not only were they trying to kill my pretty Khajiit companion, they also attempted to jeopardize well meant attempts of bringing important groups of Skyrim together, not even talking about the newlyweds themselves. What was wrong with them? Did the people in this organization really not care about important things?

We tried to relax in the early afternoon, but mostly failed. Looking at my face and T'mara´s, one could clearly recognize the stress we had been exposed to earlier today. However, once the party was officially over, Falk Firebeard, Jarl Elisif´s steward, asked us to join the Jarl in her throne room in the blue palace for a moment. We found her there together with Vittoria and Arngeir and some other nobles. Elisif got up from her seat, turned towards T'mara, and said: "Dragonborn, we are honored to have you here. Today, when disaster threatened to strike, you kept a calm head and intervened successfully, not only saving lives, but also preventing to have the political significance of this wedding diminished. For this valor, I declare you an honorary citizen of Solitude, with the right to purchase property in the city!" Lowering her voice a little, she added: "There is a place for another thane at my court. Just continue to help my citizens and let's see where this leads to."

Before we got back to the inn, I intercepted Jordis for a face-to-face talk, while T'mara was talking to some other people. I told Jordis that I was not sure how I should continue to treat T'mara. Yes, she was the Dragonborn and she seemed to like me, but should I really hang around her all of the time? Was I really entitled to seek a long term relationship with her? Jordis looked at me and shook her head. "My Thane", she said, "I am not really supposed to say something like this to you, but you are an idiot. This girl adores you, she spends almost every night with you and tells everybody who asks that this helps her to relax, and whenever she looks at you, you can practically see the feelings she has for you. You know, almost everybody else would either take advantage of her and her feelings or decide to be together with her is too demanding and leave ...". I looked at her doubtfully: "Are you sure that she isn't better off without me?" Jordis almost got angry: "Of course I am! Actually, if you're not going to make a move anytime soon, I am going to become really annoyed with you because she needs you! And yes, I know, you are a firm believer in the rule to have certain things limited to marriage – so, get to Riften, buy an amulet of Mara, and show it to her as soon as you can!" Wow, if she put it that way – maybe she was right after all?

After dinner, when we retired to our room, T'mara asked me: "Are Jarls always so gracious with their gifts?" After pondering this, I replied: "No, not normally. But you, as Dragonborn, have been able to provide a really valuable service, first to the Jarl of Whiterun, and now to the Jarl of Haafingar. Also, without playing down your achievements, I'd guess that it is an honor for a Jarl to recognize the Dragonborn as an important person – it might increase their own reputation. I seem to recall that you recently got a letter from the Jarl of Falkreath asking you to consider becoming a Thane of his hold, too. Without really knowing him, I have heard enough about Jarl Siddgeir, and I am quite sure that he is more concerned about some kind of cheap labor doing work for him. Why, I once talked to him and asked if he considered his job difficult, and he replied something like 'Difficult? I eat the most succulent meat, drink the finest ale and hunt with the best hounds in the hold. Meanwhile, my very capable steward sees to the needs of the smallfolk and ensures that my hold runs smoothly.' Doesn't this speak for itself?"

T'mara nodded and asked: "How can I know who is serious about me and who just wants to exploit me?" I shook my head: "This is sometimes difficult to find out. There are certain groups of people I know who have no intent whatsoever to exploit you, like the mages at the College of Winterhold and the Companions". I continued to think about: "Politically active parties are usually interested a lot in their own reputation and gain, and they care mostly about what they and their holds can gain from you. This includes all Jarls, more or less, although I believe that Jarl Balgruuf is really interested in your person, and not only in your benefit for his hold.". I added: "There are also some people who do not care one way or another and just treat you more or less like anybody else, like some innkeepers – Wilhelm in Ivarstead is a good example." I concluded: "And finally, you have a large group of unknowns, where you have to find out over time. Of course, please do not forget that there is a small group of people fully loyal to you, like our housecarls."

T'mara looked at me and added: "… and you!". I nodded and smiled: "Of course, and me".

[Author's Note: I took the liberty of declaring the 'Icerunner' an older wreck, whereas in the game, I think, this is a ship which one can exploit in a quest by extinguishing the lighthouse fire. Also, I think that in the game the wedding only takes place when you do the corresponding quest in the Dark Brotherhood, so that I changed this a little in the story]


	22. Chapter 22 - Serpent's Bluff Redoubt

**Chapter 22: Serpent's Bluff Redoubt**

_[19th - 27th of Sun's Dusk 4E 201]_

After all what had transpired on the previous day, T'mara suggested to leave Solitude as early as possible. While Jordis asked to be allowed to stay for a few more days, T'mara and I managed to find two seats on the carriage to Whiterun and got aboard. It turned out that Bjorlam was again our driver. This time we got back to Whiterun without unexpected interruptions, and T'mara seemed to enjoy getting back to some kind of regular schedule, which included a daily training with the companions and staying at Breezehome for the nights. A few days later, when T'mara had been hunting with Aela and Ria (some kind of girls trip, I guess) she even proudly reported that they had encountered and killed a frost dragon.

Thinking back about what Jordis had told me in Solitude, I tried to come up with some ideas to motivate T'mara for a trip to Riften. Considering that winter was close and even in Whiterun temperatures had dropped a lot, I might be successful mentioning the moderate temperatures and autumn-like forest Riften enjoyed almost all year round. But before I could decide on the proper strategy to apply, T'mara reminded me of her cousin's invitation to Riften and asked if we could arrange to travel there any time soon. "However", T'mara added, "I am really eager to learn a frost shout, and I have not been able to yet. Thus, I would like to go to High Hrothgar first, ask Master Arngeir if he knows about a word wall not too far which can teach me a frost related shout, go there, and get to Riften afterwards – what about that?" I conceded that it appeared to be quite important for her to learn a frost shout, as an additional weapon against the multitude of fire dragons, and readily agreed. We arranged the first of Evening Star for the beginning of the new adventure.

Meanwhile, our time in Whiterun was not actually boring or so. Danica mentioned that she was getting concerned about the health of the magnificent Gildergreen tree, one of Whiterun´s prominent symbols. According to Danica, the tree had recently been struck by lightning and partially burnt. I mentioned that I had been to Eldergleam Sanctuary, and Danica asked me to consult the acolytes of Kynareth living there on the issue if I'd manage to be there again anytime soon.

Later on, Ysolda confided to T'mara that she wanted to start a trading business: "Before my ma and da passed, I told them that one day, I'd become the best trader in Skyrim. I met one of the caravan leader, Ma'dran. He said he'd help me get started if I could bring him a mammoth's tusk. Easier said than done." Of course, T'mara promised to get her the first mammoth tusk she'd come across, and actually, during on of her hunting trips, Aela and herself found a mammoth which for some reason had separated from the giant guarding it. T'mara brought the tusk to Ysolda, who replied: "Thank you. Maybe I'll be able to become a caravaneer myself, one day. As promised, let me show you a thing or two about bargaining. Don't want some shifty merchant giving you a raw trade."

When I visited the Whiterun marketplace on the next morning, Mila was excited to see me and insisted to spend some time with me. I smiled, asked permission from her mother, Carlotta, and took her off on my shoulders. T'mara was already busy with weapons training at Jorrvaskr, so that I had some time off. We left the city gates, and outside I conjured Pammy. Mila squealed when seeing her and immediately started to cuddle with her; Pammy had played with Mila a few times before and actually liked her attention. Further enhancing Mila´s joy I asked her if she was ready for a ride, and of course she nodded. Thus I lifted her on Pammy´s back (Pammy certainly would allow this only for very few people, but Mila was one of them), told her to get going and trotted at their side. We moved down to the main road, turned left, passed 'Pelagia Farm' and the 'Honningbrew Meadery' (under different ownership since some time ago) and reached the crossroads.

As I did not want to take Mila further away from the city's safety, we spent some time there observing the plentiful butterflies, and soon saw Inigo approaching. He was apparently about to buy some supplies for Riverside Lodge and was coming down the road from Riverwood. Seeing Mila and me, he stopped for a while and tried to teach Mila how to catch a butterfly. Mila was at first furious at him: "Why would anybody want to catch such a beautiful small animal?" Inigo patiently explained that a butterfly's wing had alchemical effects, and that certain alchemists, including Arcadia in Whiterun, needed the wings from time to time to brew specific potions. "Maybe", Inigo suggested, "when you are a little older, you could ask Arcadia to teach you some alchemy basics, no?"

Slowly walking back to the city gates, we encountered M'aiq again. Mila did not know this Khajiit yet and tried to initiate a conversation, but M'aiq only smiled and claimed: "Something strange happens to Khajiit when they arrive in Skyrim._" _Mila wanted to talk more with this friendly Khajiit, but M'aiq only said: "M'aiq is done talking." and left. Mila looked a little sad and asked us what M'aiq had not stayed, so that Inigo explained about that particular Khajiit´s nature. Nonetheless, when I brought back Mila to her mother right around lunchtime, she had enjoyed a few happy hours with me and was quick to tell her mother so.

A couple of days later, Vilkas knocked at our door at Breezehome when we were just having breakfast. He told us that the Companions were about to send a group of warriors to a place called 'Serpent's Bluff Redoubt', southwest of Rorikstead. Information had just been gained that the recently abducted Acolyte Jenssen, who was normally working with Danica in the Temple of Kynareth, was kept prisoner there, and in addition somebody had tasked the Companions to retrieve a family heirloom from that same place. Due to the camp's location at the border of the Reach, Forsworn activity was suspected, and Kodlak had decided to send a large group, if possible with T'mara and me, rather than just one or two warriors.

Right after completing our morning meal, we continued planing and discussing in the Mead Hall in Jorrvaskr. Vilkas was going to lead the expedition, and besides T'mara and myself, Ria, Torvar, and Athis would come along. We were ready within a few minutes, and the rising sun soon found us walking quickly along the main road in easterly direction. Lots of dew showed on the grass and flowers on the roadsides, and the air was still quite cold, but our quick walking speed kept us warm. Passing the ruins of the Western Watchtower, I reminded myself that I had planned to talk to the Jarl about rebuilding and properly occupying Fort Greymoor instead, which looked so much more suited as a guardpoint to me, but I guess that this needed to wait. Close to Fort Greymoor, which showed some bandit shapes on the guard walls, Vilkas decided to leave the main road and cut off the big bend the road was taking to the South; we moved through the tundra and rejoined the road right after 'Gjukar's Monument'. Normally, for travelers such a short cut might not be advisable due to more dangers lurking on the tundra, but for our group of six experienced warriors that was not an issue at all. Some wolves could be seen looking for prey, but they decided that our group was too large and too dangerous. A cave bear was circumvented by us, and we simply ignored the mudcrabs close to the small ponds we passed.

We reached the beginning of the side road to the bluff, just outside the town borders of Rorikstead, in the early afternoon and immediately started to follow it. From here on I sent Pammy ahead for scouting, as we did not know where the bandits or Forsworn might have guards. The road did indeed have a few bends between larger rocks which would have been suitable for an ambush, but nobody was waiting for us. Soon we could the bluff's camp in the distance, and we carefully started watching it, partially hidden behind rocks. Lots of people could be seen moving around there, and Vilkas stated: "If we approach by following the access road, there's no way to be stealthy, and they'll see us soon. There's going to be a brutal fight everybody against everybody, and while we might still win, lives might be lost. We should try to find a stealthy approach from one of the sides – what about trying to find a way up to those hills on the north side of the camp, potentially overlooking it?" I looked around and nodded: "Yes Vilkas, agreed. But, if we find a proper place, it will be difficult for us to get down there into the camp. Maybe some of us could climb the hills and start to distract the enemies, whereas the others approach from here?" After some more discussion we agreed, and T'mara and I were to be the ones to climb the hill. We took a long detour to the North to make sure to keep out of sight from the camp before turning West, and we were able find a secluded place on one of the hills overlooking the camp, where we would be hard to see, even when shooting. As the sun was quite low already, we did not lose much time, but prepared for attack – Vilkas and his group must have waiting impatiently for some time.

We could only see Forsworn when looking down, and we commenced using our bow (T'mara) and crossbow (myself) right away. The distance was a little bit high for a bow, but shooting at a down angle and aiming carefully, doable. Our first targets were eliminated completely by surprise, and seeing two of their comrades suddenly falling down, some of the other Forsworn stopped walking for a moment, which enabled to kill another two. Now everybody in the camp was wildly running around trying to find out where the arrows and bolts were coming from, and soon I could see our shield siblings rushing up the access road. Once a Forsworn looked in their direction and was about to shout a warning, but my bolt was faster. I decided that the distraction needed to be enhanced and showed myself, leaving my rock cover for the moment. Indeed some of the Forsworn, who had by now at least roughly found out from which direction the attack came, noticed me, and one of them – most likely a Hagraven – started to cast fire blasts at me, so that I hid behind my rock again. However, all of them looking in our direction now allowed our companions to enter the camp completely unnoticed, and suddenly the Forsworn found themselves to be attacked from two sides at once. Naturally, whenever we had a chance, T'mara and I continued to fire arrows and bolts. The finally remaining Hagraven and Briarheart turned out to be two very formidable opponents, but after being attacked from one side by powerful Skyforge steel and from the other side by bolts of exploding fire, they could not hold out for long. As soon as no more enemies showed up, T'mara and I climbed down form the hill and joined our friends. Njada and Torvar had both received nasty wounds from fire spells and Vilkas had been hit by a Forsworn Forager's sword, but we had plenty of healing potions with us and I also provided some support with my restoration spell.

Looking around with the sun about to set, we had still missed to find either one of our targets – no captive was to be seen, and no family heirloom was part of the loot we had found yet. A table inside of one of the larger tents had a tactical map of the Reach area spread on it, and while we did not know what they had been planing, we decided to take it and show it to Jarl Balgruuf. Further, at the top of the stairs inside the camp an opening was leading into some kind of interior, and as this was the only area we had not searched yet, we suspected our targets in there. The sun was down now, but that would not matter below ground. We quickly improvised a campfire and helped ourselves to some of the supplies the Forsworn had stacked in the camp. Stomachs filled and still driven by Adrenaline, we soon ventured inside.

The entrance directly lead to a passage with some torches on the walls, and we soon had to descend some stairs. Some traps and corridors later, we found our first Forsworn sitting in a chair in a chamber, reading a book. More stairs and passages later, we soon believed to get close to the main underground area. Carefully looking around the next corner, I could see a Hagraven and two Forsworn further ahead, a few chests, and a prisoner bound to a chair. We retreated for a minute to discuss our strategy of attack – after all, we did not want to endanger the prisoner's life. After discarding some other plans, we decided upon T'mara and Pammy sneaking along the wall towards the captive, myself firing bolts to get the enemy's attention, and the other Companions attacking the Forsworn who were likely to turn in our direction as soon as my bolts hit.

T'mara, with the 'Ring of the Khajiiti' she had received from Meridia, was now stealthy enough to be able to sneak along the dimly lit walls towards the chair the captive was bound to, with Pammy, who was naturally stealthy, right on her heels. When they had reached their target, a small kind of alcove right behind the prisoner, I send my first bolt towards the Forsworn which was closest to the prisoner. The Hagraven was instantly alert and found our group lurking at the chamber entrance. As she started to cast some spells, the Companions dispersed and went to attack her from different directions. The other Forsworn was unsure on what to do, so that I could sent another bolt, killing him instantly. The Hagraven, now the only enemy left in the room, noticed her precarious situation, but made a deadly mistake by turning around to her prisoner – before she could cast a spell or attack, she had Vilkas greatsword driven into the chest, which made her stumble. Ria and Athis quickly completed the kill with their weapons.

Naturally, our next move was to removed the binds from the unlucky captive, who indeed turned out to be Acolyte Jenssen. He told us that he had been caught a couple of day ago when wandering the tundra, collecting herbs and flowers for the temple. We introduced him to all of us, and he was visibly impressed by seeing my big Pahmer familiar. While those of us who needed to rest for a few minutes could do so, the others continued to search the place, and soon we had not only found the missing family heirloom, but also a lot of septims and loot. We quickly discussed if we should spend the rest of the night down here or rather up in the camp, and decided that down here might be safer; with Pammy standing guard, all of us could actually afford to sleep.

Sunrise of the next day found us leaving the ruins with a yawn, and after making sure that we had not missed any bandits or Forsworn, we idled downwards towards Rorikstead. We were talking about all kind of things and looking forward to get home again today, when we suddenly heard the unmistakable roar from a dragon's mouth. Looking up and around we indeed say a big green dragon lowering itself onto the quarry southeast of the town's inn and blasting fire towards the farm's fields. As I had the only weapon able to cover such a distance, I stopped walking and started shooting frost bolts towards the beast, whereas the others quickly proceeded downhill. The dragon noticed quickly that I seemed to be a more dangerous enemy than the wheat plants at the farm and rose, to fly in my direction – this, whoever, forced it to get close to my companions, so that it was quickly hit by arrows and a '_FUS RO DAH!_' shout, which almost forced the beast down. I continued to fire my frost bolts (I was kind of field testing them for Sorine at castle Dawnguard, and she would be happy to hear that they worked quite well), and soon the beast was indeed forced to land, which it did in the middle of the road leaving Rorikstead on the southern side. My shield siblings carefully approached from different directions, and they were smart enough not to get too close yet – nobody wanted to end up between the beast's jaws. The dragon moved around, but failed to catch any of us. T'mara and I both continued to fire and shout from elevated positions, and once, when a wingtip was stretched close to Vilkas, he cut if off with his greatsword. The dragon, apparently almost done for, exhaled his breath in a huge cloud of fire, which I quickly countered with my most powerful frost spell; after the beast had spent its breath, the frost spell moved down its throat, which turned out to be the final blow. Seconds later, the dragon's body started to disintegrate, and a blueish swirl whirled around T'mara, allowing her to absorb the dragon's soul.

Checking for injuries, we found that Torvar and Ria both had some nasty burns, but healing potions quickly took care of that problem. I also offered to apply restoration magic to avoid scarring. Torvar refused to have his scar treated further, claiming that he liked his scars as proof of his warrior abilities, but Ria preferred to have potential scars removed before they became permanent, so that I carefully cast my restoration magic on her wounded arm. While most of the town's citizens stood around the remaining dragon bones, we started our walk back to Whiterun and actually managed to get there before dusk, without further interruptions. The family heirloom was returned to its rightful owner, bounty and rewards were collected, and the strange map we had found delivered to the Jarl. Danica was particularly happy to get her acolyte back.


	23. Chapter 23 - Journey to Riften - part 1

**Chapter 23: Journey to Riften - part 1**

_[30__th__ of Sun's Dusk – 7__th__ of Evening Star 4E 201]_

The last day of the month Sun's Dusk had started, and thus our scheduled trip to Riften came close. I tried to summarize our goals together with T'mara: "First, we go to High Hrothgar via Ivarstead and ask the Greybeards if they know about a word wall somewhere not too far teaching a frost related shout. Second, if they can tell us about such a place, we get there and fight against whatever or whoever we need to so that you can learn the shout. Third, if it's not too far from our way to Riften from there, we visit Eldergleam Sanctuary and ask the Kynareth followers there if they know anything about possible Gildergreen health issues. Forth, finally, we go to Riften and visit your cousin, staying there a week or two. Does this summarize what we should do properly?" She smiled and agreed: "Yes it does – I am looking forward to doing all of that, with you!" Thus, we agreed in our plans, but of course reality decided to add some twists and changes, as we would learn later on.

To save a couple of hours of walking, we left Breezehome in the early evening to travel to Riverside Lodge for the night, and of course we had told the Companions that we'd again be absent for some time. Lydia and Inigo were already at the lodge, and they wanted to travel with us at least to Ivarstead. We met them a couple of hours later, had dinner together, and retired early to be well rested for our next day's trip to Ivarstead.

Again we selected the shortest path to Ivarstead from the lodge we knew, which implied taking the side road up the mountains in Riverwood, turning east at Helgen, and crossing the mountains before descending down into the valley again, which was the westernmost part of the Rift. Today, when we were about to pass 'Haemar's Shame', a cave entrance right after the pass, in snow clouds, we were attacked by two vampires. Of course, Pammy had been walking ahead of us, and she immediately captured the attention of one of the enemies. The other one quickly caught an exploding fire bolt in the chest, followed by a fireball, which turned out to be enough. Pammy had a hard fight, but T'mara was there to help quickly. "I wonder", I commented after we had defeated the vampires and rested a little, "if vampires are getting more aggressive nowadays. If they are, it is really a blessing to know that the Dawnguard exists."

As usual, Wilhelm at the Vilemyr Inn was delighted to see us, and before we could ask, both T'mara and I had a big cup of milk placed before us. "You are by far my favorite milk drinkers", he grinned. We had not brought any game today, but Wilhelm's larder was fully stocked, he said. "You know", he told us and in particular looked at T'mara, "since it became known that the Dragonborn spent a few nights at my inn before doing the pilgrimage up to High Hrothgar not only once, but twice, business has picked up, and I have had more guests than usual – thanks to you!" As we only expected to spend a night or two up with the Greybeards, we told Lydia and Inigo to expect us back within a week or less and retired early for our demanding ascent.

This time we knew what to expect, and T'mara and I were making good progress, watching out for wolves and bears early one and for wraiths and trolls later on. Pammy was again able to warn us ahead of time, thanks to her sensitive nose (of course, this did not work well with the scentless Ice Wraiths), and we found another Frost Troll waiting for us at the ravine. Expecting that, we had already planned an attack scheme and used bolts and arrows from a distance. A sequence of exploding fire bolts hurt the beast faster than it could heal itself, so that a final attack by Pammy put it over the edge – literally, actually, as the final paw swipe dealt by Pammy made the beast, already half dead, lose its balance and fall down from the cliffs.

Arriving at the doors of High Hrothgar in the evening on the second day, we were warmly greeted by Master Arngeir and guided towards our usual room. We decided to rest first and talk about business tomorrow.

"Master Arngeir", T'mara started after breakfast on the next day, "thank you for having us as guests again. We have met and killed a few dragons already, and I have been able to learn a few more shouts. However, I still lack a proper shout against the many fire dragons finding us, and I would very much like to learn a frost shout. Do you by any chance know where to find one, please?"

Master Arngeir pondered this and left to discuss the request with his colleagues for a few minutes. When he returned, he told us: "Dragonborn, we have heard the whispers of a word wall. A place called 'Bonestrewn Crest' is likely to provide what you are looking for. Let me mark it on your map." I spread our big map on the table, and Arngeir marked a place close to the Hot Springs, just a little bit northeast of Eldergleam Sanctuary. "T'mara", I exclaimed, "this is almost perfect! We can travel east and visit both the marked location and Eldergleam Sanctuary on the same day – I like it!" Master Arngeir added a warning: "This place is likely to be guarded by a powerful dragon – be aware!" We thanked him for the marker and the warning, and T'mara spent the rest of the day meditating on some words and Shouts, while I looked into some of the books of the extensive library the Greybeards had accumulated.

The next morning found us descending the mountain again. As for the previous visits, we had said goodbye to the Greybeards in the previous evening and started to get on the path just before sunrise, to make sure that we could arrive down in Ivarstead before darkness. Lydia and Inigo were waiting for us at the bridge, and T'mara could not wait to tell them what we had learned. "What", Inigo commented, "a powerful dragon, a mysterious cave, and the famous hot springs are all to be visited? This one needs to be along!" he claimed, for a moment falling back into the traditional Khajiiti way of speaking. I smiled, and we gladly agreed to do the next part of the journey together. I mean, being Dragonborn was a demanding task, but there was no rule saying that the Dragonborn and her companions couldn't have some fun!

After a rest day in Ivarstead we all started to continue our journey to Riften, first via the Hot Spring area. Our first goal was to get to 'Darkwater Crossing', which was not terribly far at all, so that we took our time and casually walked downstream along the river. On the other bank a few bears enjoyed the early sun rays at a place the map knew as 'Pinepeak Cavern', and the stream's murmuring lulled our senses. Pammy was running ahead, and from time to time she jumped into the river hunting for salmon. After the next bend of the stream, the river turned into a series of rapids, and it was getting challenging to continue any kind of conversation with that kind of background noise. We almost missed to notice the troll between road and rocks; its skin color was nearly matching the bank and rocks, and we only noticed it when the beast started to move towards us – Pammy had used this moment for another salmon hunt. Fortunately it turned out that this creature, with three eyes like its cousin, the Frost Troll, was less tough, but also sensitive to fire damage, which was quickly dealt by Inigo, T'mara, and myself.

During a quick break after the fight, T'mara came up with a question: "I have seen Pammy jump into the river multiple times within the past hour – how does she manage to get her fur dry again?" I smiled and replied: "Well, there are two good explanations. First, as she is a conjured familiar, she cannot catch a cold and she cannot become sick, so that moving around with a wet fur is not a problem for her. Second, each time I re-conjure her, she appears in prime condition and with dry fur – having a capable familiar does have some advantages!" T'mara understood and laughed.

Further along the river, the path started some bends, down towards the valley where Darkwater Crossing was located. After one of those bends and hidden by a group or rocks, a number of bandits had apparently laid an an ambush, and as the wind blew downwards, Pammy could not smell them early on. T'mara was walking a little ahead together with Pammy when suddenly a very sturdy looking highwayman stepped from behind a bush saying: "You picked a bad time to get lost, friend", while getting ready to use his axe. At the same time, three more bandits appeared from behind the rocks they had used for hiding and approached them from different directions. T'mara was frozen by surprise and shock for a moment, but it looked like those bandits had not noticed Lydia, Inigo, and myself following, as we were temporarily hidden by the bend of the road. Pammy did not hesitate and attacked the closest bandit right away, Lydia drew her sword and rushed forward, Inigo had his bow ready, and I aimed my crossbow. Carefully checking the surroundings, I found another couple of bandits on some rocks beside the road, taking aim with their bows, and quickly shot my bolts towards them. Meanwhile, I could hear Lydia fighting, as she she was shouting something like "You stupid excuse for a Nord!" and "You should have stayed in your precious forests, elf!" (one of the bandits at least obviously was a Bosmer). When I had identified and eliminated a third and final bandit archer, my friends had defeated the bandits on the road, but not without some injuries. Lydia, in particular, had a few nasty cuts and bruises and an arrow shot through her left shoulder, with the tip looking out on the other side. While we removed the arrow and offered a healing potion, she accepted, and she even allowed some restoration magic to be applied. While most Nords had some kind of superstition against magic, Lydia had recognized that a housecarl needed to be in top condition. In addition, Inigo had actually talked her into at least trying to learn some magic herself.

Most likely we had not been the first group of travelers attacked by the bandits, as we found their lair filled with loot close by. We did not take all of their stuff, but we collected the septims, gems, and a few of the best weapons, including a couple of additional throwing daggers for T'mara. After a few more bends of the path, we reached the main road soon enough. The sun was now hidden behind thick clouds and rain started to fall, so that we were happy that the somewhat slippery descent was behind us. To the Northwest, just after the bridge, we could barely see a huge grey shape which I knew as Fort Amol, but we turned Southeast for now towards our target. Half an hour later the side road to Darkwater Crossing was visible turning left from the main road, and we followed across a bridge. The small location did not have an inn, but we had been here before, and the locals (mostly miners) allowed us to set up our tents close to the campfire. The river passing the settlement had lots of fish in it, and Pammy immediately got busy catching some of them. I tried to teach to not eat all of them on her own, and with some success, as she actually brought some of the larger salmons out to me. We shared the fish with the locals and had a nice dinner together with them.

On the next morning, Eldergleam Sanctuary beckoned, and I knew that it was not far from here. After sharing our breakfast with the miners we walked in northern direction. The trees, grass, and forest plants were soon replaced by bare rock, Dragon's Tongue, Creep Cluster and the occasional Jazbay Grapes; the air temperature rose, the first hot water ponds appeared, and we had entered the Hot Springs area again. The entrance to the cave was not very far away, and we got there before noon easily.

Entering the sanctuary was, like last time, comparable to enter a different world. Lydia and Inigo, who had not been here before, stood in awe, when the narrow path offered a view into the main cave after a few turns. Gone was the bright sunlight, the crude bare ground and the wind blowing across the plains – now muted cavern light, hanging moss, and butterflies beckoned to us, and the huge Eldergleam tree loomed in the background. Soon we encountered the disciples of Kynareth again and greeted them warmly. We asked about the Gildergreen in Whiterun, as Danica had asked us, and Asta, one of the Kynareth followers, nodded. "Yes", she said, "sometimes one of the descendants from our Eldergleam tree here needs some refreshments to get back to full health again. With a special device, called 'Nettlebane', it is possible to extract some sap and use it to refresh your tree, as the Eldergleam tree's bark will resist all normal weapons. Sadly, though, Nettlebane has been stolen some time ago and is now lost. According to some rumors, it is now kept by some Hagravens in Orphan Rock, so that you might want to go there to retrieve it. Once you got the device, please return here and we will assist you in siphoning the sap without hurting the mother tree."

We thanked Asta for this information and said that we would do that when we had the time. We took a couple of more hours admiring the cave and the main tree, before we left again and entered the outside world. As we did not want to disturb the peace we had gained in our hearts by visiting the sanctuary by another fight soon again, we decided to set up for the night at the place I had last used together with T'mara, close to one of the hot ponds with a nice overview. T'mara specifically liked the idea and suggested to stay there also for the next day – another hot bath seemed to appeal to her (and, naturally, to me as well).

After breakfast on the next day, I was hoping for a lazy day here, and thinking back to the first time T'mara and I had been here, I almost wished we were alone and did not have Lydia and Inigo with us. However, I wouldn't mind my best friend and his girl friend also to enjoy the time here, of course. While I leaned back to digest my morning meal, I saw T'mara discussing something with Lydia in a whispered voice – girl stuff probably. Later on we discussed about getting fresh meat for today, and Lydia and Inigo volunteered for that task. When they had left, T'mara looked at me and suggested that we might want to take advantage of the hot pond again, and before I had a chance to react, started to remove her clothes. Well, this was just fine for me and kind of what I had hoped for, and I quickly followed her example. As soon as we were down to our undies, we stepped into the pond at the same place as last time and started to relax in the comfortably hot water.

Absentmindedly I asked the Khajiit if she wanted me to scratch her back, and she replied: "No, not this time, maybe later. Today, we need to do something else – we need to practice kissing properly!" - "Okay, why not" I replied sleepily without actually noticing what she had just said. When she came closer, I suddenly realized what she had suggested, blushed, and stuttered: "What? … Kissing? ...". She looked at me and almost laughed: "That is exactly my point – I can't have you blushing and stuttering when I just talk about it!" And she continued: "You know, we have been together for some time now, wouldn't you consider us something like boyfriend and girlfriend at least?" By now I was able to think clearly again, at least, and I had to admit that she was right, and I tentatively nodded. The way we were close was not just simple friendship, it was much more (I also recalled the last discussion I had had with Jordis), and at that stage kissing was probably part of the program. Not that I minded, but shy as I was, I would have never dared to suggest it. But, as she had suggested it: "You have a point here, T'mara. I was actually fantasizing about that already, but have not dared to go ahead, not even after that mini kiss you gave me during our first time in Breezehome:" She laughed: "That was not really a kiss, that was more like a quick touch. Now, let's get to work. I do not pretend that I know what I am doing – far from it. But, to be honest, I dared to raise a few special questions to my housecarl, and she was very ready to elaborate!" By Mara, she had talked to Lydia about kissing? Thinking about it, this seemed to make sense, as Lydia was also in a relation with a Khajiit, but really … I did not get a chance to follow this line of thoughts any further, because now T'mara was sitting on my lap in the pond, facing me, with her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck, and before I knew it, her mouth covered mine.

A few minutes later I found myself lucky to be firmly seated in the pond. Feeling her almost nude body so close, ourselves enclosed by the warm water, sun shining from above, and her mouth attached to mine, with our tongues getting increasingly busy, I was getting somewhat dizzy and almost thought I'd faint. Apparently her feelings were similar, because the suddenly leaned back, breathed deeply a couple of times, and meowed: "I need a break to catch my breath – this is almost too much!" Soon we found out that alternating between intense kissing parts and less intense back scratching parts worked well and we continued to do that for some time, when I suddenly asked: "Shouldn't Lydia and Inigo be back from hunting soon?" T'mara smirked: "Not for some time. I asked them to take their time and not be back before mid afternoon." That was what they had whispered about in the morning; it really looked like this wonderful Khajiit had all of this planned properly.

We took advantage of the time given to us until Pammy warned us of somebody approaching. At that time we were somewhat exhausted and just resting and relaxing, and soon Lydia and Inigo approached, carrying a large package of meat (they had obviously already skinned whatever thy had caught). Inigo looked at us and asked: "Have you been in the pond all time long?" I just nodded. Inigo smiled and commented: "Good for you, my friend!" I suspected that he had an idea about what we had been doing, and of course Lydia would have mentioned something to him. But that was all right – Inigo was my best friend after all.

T'mara decided that this was a good time to get out of the water and start sunbathing, so that her fur would be dry until dinnertime. I volunteered to start preparing dinner, as Lydia and Inigo had earned a break now. The disappeared around a corner towards another pond, and I suspected that they wanted to be alone there. I ordered Pammy to increase her patrol area to make sure the two were not disturbed by any bandits.

A few hours later, dinner was almost ready, and I whistled to Inigo – Lydia and he were coming over soon, looking hungry. Naturally, Inigo´s fur was still dripping wet, and T'mara was concerned what to do about it. "Do not worry, my young friend", Inigo laughed, "as I do have my friend the furdryer with me!" T'mara did not understand, but I did, as I had done this favor to Inigo before a few times. Inigo stepped aside from the others and I activated my lowest level fire spell, the one I could maintain for many minutes, and the same one I had used to dry the firewood in the Solitude Lighthouse. Keeping my distance to Inigo in order not to burn his skin, I cast the spell in his direction and maintained it. He turned around to have the hot air reach all parts of his body, and we did this for about ten minutes until he was mostly dry. Finally he stepped behind a rock and dropped his loincloth for the final drying. Once this was completed, we could start eating dinner with a dry and happy Inigo.

Later, when we were all in our bedrolls and tents. T'mara turned her face towards me and asked: "You could have done this quick drying by fire spell to me, too, you know?" I admitted: "Yes, in general. But the last part, when Inigo was behind a rock, included him dropping the final parts of his clothes to make sure all parts of his body were getting dry." I did not have to continue, as T'mara understood the implications: "Oh, I get it. But anyway, it was a wonderful day, and you know, nothing prevents us from practicing kissing more here in the tent...".


	24. Chapter 24 - Journey to Riften - part 2

**Chapter 24: Journey to Riften - part 2**

_[8th - 9th of Evening Star 4E 201]_

We were all nicely rested after a good night´s sleep and fully motivated to face our next challenge after breakfast on the next day, and thus quickly moved on towards the location known as 'Bonestrewn Crest', as the Greybeards had suggested. According to them, we were likely to find both a word wall and a dragon there. As our pond area had been east of Eldergleam, we now had to travel mostly north, and after a couple of hours we saw a small summit ahead of us, which could be our target. Coming closer, we heard noises of fighting and a dragon's roar, and we could soon see a big brown dragon fighting both against a giant and a group of Stormcloaks, close to 'Steamcrag Camp'. As the dragon was still airborne, there was not much the giant could do except for swinging his cub in a threatening way. The Stormcloaks at least had their bows and arrows, but although I saw a few arrows sticking in the dragon´s wings, the beast looked almost unhurt.

Naturally we joined the fight, and soon my crossbow and Inigo´s and T'mara´s bows were at work. Both the Stormcloaks and we tried to keep our distance from the giant, as we did not want to have a second enemy at once. Soon the frost dragon had noticed its new enemies and turned towards us, as we were attacking from the West, where it was facing the giant on the North and the Stormcloaks towards the East. A big frost patch emerged from the dragon´s snout towards, but we were able to evade it in time. The dragon came closer for a second attempt, but was now caught in a big fireball from Inigo and myself and hit by a '_FUS RO DAH!_' from T'mara, which visibly hurt the beast and made it come down into one of the hot water ponds. Arrows were now hitting it again from both sides, and the giant trotted closer and actually managed to hit the dragon´s head with his club. Retaliating, the dragon pushed the giant back with a claw and blew frost at it. The giant, though, being used to the cold, was not impressed and landed another crashing hit with its club, actually making the club crack on the dragon's head this time. The beast was dazed and now clearly hurt. We concentrated our efforts, with more arrows being sent by the Stormcloaks, T'mara shouting a '_YOL_' as soon as she had recovered her throat, and Lydia and myself rammed our swords into the dragon's body. With a final rear, the dragon finally collapsed and was dead. A huge cheer shouted in our direction from the Stormcloaks, the giant also looked happy and slowly trotted back to its camp, and the dragon´s body disintegrated, with the usual whirl transporting its soul into T'mara. The Stormcloaks, who had reached us by now, noticed that and cheered again, and some called "Dragonborn!".

It turned out that the Stormcloaks´ captain was Ralof, and he was happy to see T'mara and me again. Naturally, we had to explain a few things, as the news of T'mara being Dragonborn had not reached Windhelm yet. Once he had heard the latest news, Ralof suggested: "You need to go to Windhelm with us, please. Jarl Ulfric for sure will want to see you!" I looked over to T'mara and said: "Windhelm is not exactly on the way to Riften. On the other hand, paying a visit to Jarl Ulfric may really be a good idea, and we can take a carriage from there to Riften, if we want." T'mara pondered that and finally agreed: "Yes, let's go to Windhelm with Ralof and his soldiers – I'd like to see Jarl Ulfric again and see if he recognizes me from Helgen. But of course, we need to get to 'Bonestrewn Crest' first."

As the crest was right next to us, we only had to climb up to the summit, while Ralof's group rested. The dragon normally protecting the Crest had just been defeated by us, so that T'mara could get to the word wall unhindered – she actually learned '_FO_', the first word of the 'Frost Breath' shout. Quickly, after emptying a single chest which we found nearby, we stepped down from the summit again to join the Stormcloaks. Ralof told us that they were sent to patrol the area and had found the dragon while checking the area around 'Steamcrag Camp'. Their last place to check was 'Witchmist Grove', which was know to sometimes harbor a witch or two, and we all walked in this direction. It turned out that, this time, a friendly alchemist had taken residence here for some time, and she seemed much more interested in the specific plants around the grove rather than attacking hapless travelers. With that Ralof could live, and thus we soon found our way back to the road and marched towards Windhelm.

After Kynesgrove, leaving the influence of the hot spring area, the weather quickly changed back to 'normal' winter conditions and we needed to get our cloaks out again. Soon the ground was snow covered, and the dragon's tongue flowers replaced by snowberries and the occasional resilient mountain flower. Windhelm, the former capital of Skyrim, was now visible ahead of us; passing the stables, we walked across the monumental bridge towards the city's gates.

Windhelm was one of the largest cities in Skyrim, and one of the cities actually earning this name, as it was at least properly fortified and big enough. I had been here before a few years ago, but found the atmosphere darker than in Whiterun, and the citizens less friendly, Specifically I had seen lots of Dunmer living in the city´s so-called 'Grey Quarter'. I had once arrived here with a carriage driver named Alfarinn, and he had explained it like this: "It's an old city, I can tell you that. The Palace of Kings is ancient. It's not the friendliest for outsiders. The Dark Elves are all forced to live in the slum called the Grey Quarter. The Argonians can't even live in the walls. They're all stuck out on the docks. Still, Candlehearth Hall's got decent food and cheap bunks. You could do worse."

Ralof went with us to the inn, Candlehearth Hall, to make sure we got rooms. He said that he'd sent word to us tomorrow morning when Jarl Ulfric had decided when he had time for us; with that he took his leave.

We found ourselves somewhat hungry after the dragon fighting and thus had a go at the food the inn provided. While we were eating, a nicely dressed Imperial asked for permission to join us, and as seats were available at our table, we allowed this. He introduced himself as Adonato and said that he was a writer: "I have been trying to finish my book 'Ghost in the Storm' for a while, and I am almost done now. If you are interested, it tells the tale of myself traveling with a Khajiit caravan towards Windhelm and being struck by a violent snow storm and some snow beasts. As soon as I have applied the finishing touches, I will gladly sell a copy to you!"

We also told some of our stories with dragon fights and such, and he contemplated writing a book on that, too. With a nice company like the writer, time passed more quickly than we had expected, and soon I started to yawn and suggested that we retire to our room. T'mara however was not yet tired and decided to stay in the inn's hall for another hour or so.

Back in our room, I soon fell asleep, even though I was alone and missed the close presence of my pretty companion. Soon I started to have a nice dream about her also getting to bed and cuddle with me. In the dream, she was nude, and it felt like a vision how it might be when/if we ever got married. But even in the dream I noticed that something was wrong – her normal smell was covered by mead smell, way more than what I liked and was willing to tolerate. This was enough to make me wake up, and while I was surprised for a moment that I had been able to notice smells in my dream, I suddenly felt that T'mara was indeed stretched out close to me, hugging me closely. Furthermore, she was really nude and did smell of mead a lot, like in the dream; I could hear her murmuring something like "Come close to me – I love you – I want you", and her body movement made her intentions quite clear. Promptly I pinched myself in the arm to find out if this was a dream or real – the pinch hurt, so that it must be real.

Lots of different thoughts ran through my mind within seconds, and I have to admit that I was seriously tempted to do as she suggested and seemed to desire, but I deducted that she was obviously drunk for some reason – whatever she might be doing and saying right now, tomorrow morning she'd be totally embarrassed. Further I knew by now that she had feelings for me (this was impossible to not know after the last hot spring sessions, even for somebody like me), but there was no way I would take advantage of her while she was drunk. Being my usual shy self, the only sensible option I could think of was covering her tightly in one of the blankets, holding her, and singing her to sleep with a lullaby I recalled from my childhood. To my surprise, this actually worked, and some time later I also could get back to sleep, with less confusing dreams this time.

In the next morning she woke up before me, as I was suddenly disturbed in my sleep by herself shaking me. She asked: "Can you please tell me why I am nude in my blanket?" I looked at her and replied: "Well, you came back to the room and I woke up next to you when you were like that." T'mara was not so sure: "Why would I have done something like that?" Looking somewhat embarrassed, she sheepishly added: "I mean, I have been thinking about getting nude into bed beside you for some time, but..." - she did not know how to continue her sentence, but I understood anyway. I countered: "When you smell your own body, is this different than usual?" She had not noticed that, but started to smell her own arms, and her jaw dropped: "I smell of mead! I do not drink mead!" I told her: "My dear, you came back to the room smelling like this." She shuddered and finally meekly admitted: "Oh, I recall now. I was sitting together with some other guests in the tavern, and I allowed one of them to bring more drinks. I did not pay too much attention and assumed it would be another snowberry juice, but it probably was something else. I somehow managed to get back to the room and wondered why I was feeling quite dizzy and – by the Nine, what did I do?" I looked her in the eyes: "You came to bed while I was asleep, got nude, and told me some very nice things, encouraging me to cuddle closely with you. And before you ask any further, I woke up, noticed the smell on you, wrapped you in the blanket and got you back to sleep."

My pretty Khajiit was now totally embarrassed, got back onto the bed and wrapped her own body into a blanket; soon I could hear her sobbing. I gave her a few minutes before I cautiously touched her, and after a few more minutes her face emerged. "This is so embarrassing. I do not know what to say." I replied softly: "That's all right. I was here for you, and everything is all right." With a smile I added: "I will not tell anybody that the Dragonborn tried to force herself on me while being drunk. And, by the way, I love you, too!" She hid her face under the blanket again, but soon I heard the sobs being replaced with chuckles, and her whole body started to shake and twitch, before she burst out with laughter; I joined in and we hold each other tightly, and the world was all right again for the two of us, at least for the time being.

Elda Early-Dawn, the innkeeper, told us during breakfast in the next morning that we were invited to the palace for lunch. Thus, we had a few hours to kill and walked around the city. Turning east, we soon entered the Grey Quarter, and Inigo explained some of the background to T'mara:

"Lots of Dunmer had left Morrowind after the eruption of the Red Mountain in 4E 5, and many of them had arrived in Windhelm. Quite a few inhabitants of the city, mostly Nords, distrusted the Dunmer, and only grudgingly allowed them to find residence in this part of the city. Maybe they could even consider themselves lucky, as access to the city was barred for Argonians and Khajiit."

T'mara and Inigo had been allowed to enter yesterday as Ralof had spoken for us at the gate, but this had been an exception. Strolling along, we overheard a conversation between a boy and a female Dunmer, with the boy asking if it was true that a certain Aventus was trying to perform the Black Sacrament. At first the Dunmer denied this, but later stated that the house was cursed, and finally committed that Aventus was indeed doing something strange. When we heard that, T'mara pulled my arm and insisted on investigating; we left Lydia and Inigo outside and, after picking the lock, entered the house which seemed to be the residence in question. Inside, silence expected us on the ground floor, but a boy's voice was audible form the upper floor. Carefully we ascended the stairs, and in on the rooms upstairs a young boy, facing away from us, had placed some odd items on the floor, some of them looking like parts of a human body – he was reciting some kind of prayer, obviously talking to somebody he called 'sweet mother'.

As soon as he noticed us, the boy turned around and exclaimed: "It worked! I knew you'd come, I just knew it! I did the Black Sacrament, over and over. With the body and the... the things. And then you came! Assassins from the Dark Brotherhood."

T'mara was quick to reply: "I'm sorry, boy, but we´re not who you think I am."

The boy was convinced, though: "Of course you are! I prayed, and you came, and now you'll accept my contract."

T'mara was not sure what to say, so that she only asked: "Contract?"

The boy elaborated: "My mother, she... she died. I... I'm all alone now. So they sent me to that terrible orphanage in Riften. Honorhall. The headmistress is an evil, cruel woman. They call her 'Grelod the Kind', but she's not kind. She's terrible. To all of us. So I ran away, and came home. And performed the Black Sacrament. Now you're here! And you can kill 'Grelod the Kind'!"

Aventus Aretino, which was the boy's name as we learned, also added: "Please don't kill Constance Michel. She really is kind."

While we neither wanted to disappoint Aventus nor commit to a murder, we asked a few more questions about Grelod, and the boy confirmed: "I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life. Someone like Grelod doesn't deserve to live one more day. She's a monster."

When T'mara and I had joined Inigo and Lydia outside again, we discussed the events and decided that, once we were in Riften, we had to visit the orphanage at least and find out how kind or nor this Grelod really was. If the situation was really that bad, maybe we could talk to the Jarl about it?

Noon was almost there, and we quickly walked towards the palace for our lunch with Jarl Ulfric. And he indeed recognized T'mara: "I remember you... You were at Helgen with us! Come to join the war? Speak with Galmar, he handles the new recruits."

But T'mara declined: "That's not why I'm here."

Ulfric replied: "I'm sorry to hear that. If you change your mind, speak with Galmar."

T'mara had a few questions: "At Helgen, they said you shouted the King to death?"

Ulfric explained: "Not entirely true, though not entirely false either. Any Nord can learn the Way of the Voice by studying with the Greybeards, given enough ambition and dedication. My shouting Torygg to the ground proved he had neither. However, it was my sword piercing his heart that killed him."

T'mara also wanted to know abut the Jarl´s motivation: "Why are you fighting this war?"

Ulfric elaborated on that: "We're fighting because we're done bleeding for an Empire that won't bleed for us. Untold numbers of Nords died defending the Empire against the Dominion. And for what? Skyrim being sold to the Thalmor so the Emperor could keep his throne! We're fighting because our own Jarls, once strong, wise men, have become fearful and blind to their people's suffering. We're fighting because Skyrim needs heroes, and there's no one else but us."

Without commenting on his view, as we did not really want to take a firm stand in the civil war, we also told him about some of our adventures, and when we mentioned our multiple visits to the Greybeards, he commented thoughtfully: "I studied with them when I was young. They taught me how to Shout. They chose me when I was just a lad. It was a great honor, of course. I was to become a Greybeard myself. I spent almost ten years at High Hrothgar, learning the Way of the Voice. Then the Great War came... I couldn't stand missing it. I often think about High Hrothgar."

Lunch completed, Jarl Ulfric had to get back to work, but he told us that we'd always be welcome in Windhelm. We spent the rest of the day browsing the merchants in the marketplace, selling some of the loot and making some purchases. When visiting the local alchemy store, the 'White Phial', the owner, Nurelion, confessed that he believed a valuable artifact with the same name as his store was to be found somewhere, but nobody knew where. According to legends, the phial was able to amplify and purify liquids dropped into it, whatever that was supposed to imply. He had already spent most of his life on the search, but in vain. Lately he had heard that it could be located in the 'Forsaken Cave' in the Pale, but was getting too old and weak to get there on his own. We promised to keep this in mind, but couldn't make any commitment, as we had other plans for now.

We had dinner once more at the inn and decided to finally make the trip to Riften on the next day, using the scheduled carriage.


	25. Chapter 25 - Journey to Riften - part 3

**Chapter 25: Journey to Riften - part 3**

_[10__th__ – 11__th__ of Evening Star 4E 201]_

Alfarinn, the carriage driver, found us climbing on his wagon shortly after sunrise, with a lot of fog still in the air. We tightened our cloaks around us when we were driven across the snow covered ground for the first part of the trip. Soon we passed Kynesgrove and had the hot spring area to our right; looking in that direction invoked some very pleasant memories, and I was almost tempted to interrupt our trip for day or two, although we had been there quite recently. The ground was no longer snow covered and the sun managed to shine through the fog, nicely warming up our bodies. The brave giant which had helped killing the dragon a few days ago had apparently survived, as it was happily guarding its mammoths close to 'Steamcrag Camp'. A couple of hours later we turned left from the road to Whiterun, following another road leading to Shor's Stone. Alfarinn mentioned that we probably would have to stop there for the night, as his horse was getting older and would be exhausted after managing the ascent to the small mining town, but that town did not have an inn. We told him that this was fine for us, as we had our tents and bedrolls with us – a night outside was just all right for us.

The citizens of Shor's Stone were happy to see us in the early evening. The town was not protected by a wall or at least a palisade, and sometimes wild animals were seen entering the town roads at night. I conjured Pammy and promised that she was going to stand guard all night long, which was likely to keep most wildlife away. We set up our two tents close to the town's center, lighted a campfire, and started preparing the boar we had caught just before arriving here. Soon the smell attracted the miners, and they all plus the carriage driver joined us sitting around the fireplace. The miners brought some potatoes and leeks for the meal, whereas the boar provided more than enough meat for all of us. Filnjar, one of the miners, mentioned that he had lately seen a few spiders on the lower levels of 'Redbelly Mine', which was not an issue yet, but needed to be kept under observation. Soon the miners retired to their houses, and we gladly stretched in our bedrolls.

Alfarinn, our driver, was not in a hurry to leave next morning, but finally both he and his horse had had sufficient time for rest, so that we could get started towards Riften. To my surprise he did not follow the road in southern direction, but rather took a smaller path leading east just from the northern border of Shor's Stone. When I asked him about that, he explained that the main road passed 'Fort Greenwall', and this place had lately seen a lot of fights between Stormcloaks, Imperials, and bandits. He wanted to avoid trouble and thus took a detour, which would meet the main road again just north of the Riften watchtowers. Driving the carriage on the side path was slow going, but we were not in a hurry. We might have been able to get to Riften just one hour after noon time, but close to the Shrine of Zenithar northeast of Riften a dragon showed up. We all jumped out of the carriage with our weapons and told Alfarinn to hide and wait, while the dragon was still circling. The distance was not too great for my crossbow, so that I first shot a normal steel bolt. The beast responded with a fire breath and was thus properly identified. T'mara jumped up and down excitedly: "Now I get a chance to try my frost shout on a dragon!", when she was almost hit by the fiery dragon breath. Barely she succeeded in jumping to the side, but when the dragon opened its mouth again, it got a '_FO!_' right down its throat. At the same time, I blasted a frost cloud at one of the wings, and Lydia cut into the other wing with her sword. The dragon roared and tried to lift itself into the air again, but barely succeeded to do so. While slowly rising, it was hit by more of Inigo´s ebony arrows and my frost bolts, and we soon managed to damage one of the beast's wings in a way which forced it down again. This time, when it open its mouth to blast fire at us again, T'mara had her daggers ready, and quickly threw a number of them down the dragon's throat. While the animal was raising its head, I quickly jumped under the neck, thrust my fire enchanted greatsword upwards, deep into the neck up to the hilt, and jumped back – this turned out to be the killing blow, and the dragon expired.

We all took a quick refreshing break and checked for injuries, once the Dragonborn had absorbed the dragon´s soul and retrieved her daggers and some dragon bones and scales. Lydia had a small scratch, and T'mara had a few burns from the dragon´s initial attack and a couple of chilblains she had received by accident when standing almost directly in the path of Inigo´s frost blasts. Those were not directly visible under her fur, but she directed my restoration glow to the proper places; when I touched her for the healing, I could sense some shivering and something which felt almost like goose bumps on her skin. The carriage driver came back from hiding and congratulated us to our victory, and we could finally proceed to Riften; just about half an hour was required to get to Riften Stables, still in the early afternoon.

The city´s gate was closed and the guards did not look very friendly when we approached. Not immediately recognizing any of us, they claimed that we'd have to pay a 'visitors tax'. I had been in the city before and this was news to me, so that I asked if they wanted me to check with the Jarl about this, claiming that this was obviously a shakedown attempt – now they were very quick to open the gate for us, although they looked with distrustful faces at our two Khajiit. Inside, Maul, one of Maven Black Briar´s lackeys, stepped into our way and started to make annoying comments, but Mjoll the Lioness, whom I had met before, interrupted him and greeted me cordially. I introduced my companions, and T'mara asked her: "You're Riften's protector?"

Mjoll replied: "It's been difficult, I've taken the burdens of this city's problems upon myself and I keep running into impossible obstacles. Corruption, lies and deceit are the order of the day here. If it wasn't for Aerin, the young man who saved my life, I think I'd already have given up long ago."

T'mara looked at Aerin who also walked up to us now: "How did Aerin save your life?"

Mjoll explained: "It was Aerin who found me dying outside a Dwemer ruin. If he hadn't brought me here and nursed me back to health, I would have died. When my strength returned and he told me about the problems plaguing Riften, I decided fate brought me here for a reason... so I stayed."

My Khajiit companion asked further: "You're not from Riften?"

Mjoll elaborated: "I've been adventuring across Tamriel since I was a fresh-faced young woman barely able to swing a blade. My travels have taken me from High Rock to Valenwood, Elsweyr to Morrowind and all points in between."

T'mara looked at her: "Why are you here, then?"

Mjoll looked a little sad when she said: "Many years ago I lost my blade, 'Grimsever', within a Dwarven ruin. Without it, I feel almost as defenseless as a newborn. I don't think I'll ever be able to find a replacement."

T'mara looked at me and suggested: "Sorry to hear about that. Maybe at a later time we can help you to retrieve your favorite weapon!"

With those words we took our leave from Mjoll and Aerin and moved to the local inn, the 'Bee and Barb', to check if rooms were available. They were, and we booked two of them for a couple of days, paying in advance.

While I was dealing with the innkeeper, Keerava, I could hear a familiar persuasive voice behind me: "Never done an honest day's work in your life for all that coin you're carrying, eh lass?"

I turned around and found my old friend Brynjolf, a red haired Nord, whom I knew to be the second-in-command of the Thieves Guild, addressing T'mara, trying to find out if she was a potential guild candidate.

T'mara just replied: "I'm sorry, what?" when I cut in: "Brynjolf, it is good to see you again, too!"

He turned around, and when he recognized me, his mouth turned into a smile. "Is she with you?" he asked, and I hurried to introduce my companions. "Brynjolf", I added, "T'mara is very special to me, and I'd very much prefer that you treat her with the same courtesy as you treat me!" He nodded, knowing that I implied immunity to the Guild, and said: "Aye, that we can do."

We agreed to meet again later in the inn for dinner, but before that T'mara was very eager to pay a visit to the orphanage. She wanted to find out for herself if 'Grelod the Kind' was really that bad. Thus we left Lydia and Inigo behind for some shopping and turned south, to soon find the entrance to 'Honorhall Orphanage'. The main door was not locked, so that we stepped inside. We could soon see some of the children; they were mostly dressed in rags and looked somewhat undernourished, neglected, and unhappy. From the background, we could hear parts of some conversation between what must be Grelod and a younger woman, supposedly her assistant Constance, and we could not resists the temptation to listen in for some time:

"Constance!" - "Yes, Grelod?"

"Hroar's crying is keeping me up at night. I'll give you one chance to talk the tears out of him, or he's getting the belt." - "Okay, okay. I'll deal with it."

Soon after that: "Seven septims are missing from my purse. I know it was Runa. You get those coins back, or by Stendarr, I'll see her rot in the dungeon." - "I'll handle it. No need to blow things out of proportion."

And: "The stores are running low. We'll need to water down the milk again. Besides, don't want the little darlings getting fat." - "All right. I'll take care of it."

T'mara and I looked at each other and could hardly believe it. When Constance had left to handle some issue, we stepped into Grelod´s office, which made her nag right away: "What do you want? You have no business being in here!"

Based on what we had heard before, I could not resist the temptation to step closer to her and state in my deepest and most intimidating voice: "Aventus Aretino says hello".

Grelod replied agitatedly: "Aretino? Why that little bastard! You tell him I'm coming for him! And when I find him, it will be the beating of his miserable life!"

I remained silent this time, but continued to look at her, and she continued: "What are you staring at, you worthless piece of gutter trash? I simply must start locking the doors again..." Getting quite upset now, she added in a high pitched voice: "You're trying to frighten me, hmm? Do your worst!"

With this being said, her face started to pale, and she snapped for air, before she suddenly fainted and sank back into her chair. I looked at T'mara, commenting: "It looks like we left an impression all right, but did she learn a lesson? Can we somehow make her change her behavior towards the kids?"

T'mara, before answering, approached Grelod, looked at her, felt for her pulse, and finally murmured: "There's no need for a further lesson – she's dead, Timotheus!" I was shocked, as this had definitely not been my intention. T'mara added: "It looks like she suffered from a stroke, and we actually did what this boy in Windhelm expected us to do, after all, although not intentionally."

We managed to leave the orphanage undetected and thus avoided having a bounty on our heads, but as soon as we were outside, the children must have found the corpse, as we heard them cheering and singing loudly. Deep in our thoughts we walked back to the marketplace, to meet Inigo and Lydia again before joining Brynjolf for dinner. While walking there, T'mara looked at me with a frown: "Timotheus, was it right to go there and intimidate her? I mean, she died, and she was not a bandit or so."

I understood her concern and replied: "T'mara, I am not sure. On one hand, we did not want her to die, and this was not a good turn at all. On the other hand, how would we have convinced her to change her behavior? I'm also worried and reflect on what happened, but at the end there is nothing we can do about it now. I guess we cannot always do the right thing, even if we try."

As we did not want to have lots of others listening in, we met Brynjolf in the 'Ragged Flagon' rather than the 'Bee and Barb'. Inigo had been here already a few times together with me, but the tavern and the scary access through the 'Ratway' was a first for Lydia and T'mara. The guild did not really want to know everybody in town about this place, but (contrary to some other areas I happened to know about) it was open to friends of the guild.

Brynjolf greeted us and asked with a grin if we had trouble getting here. He told us that M'lissa was currently out of town and thus could not join us. However, he invited his friend Delvin to our large table, and soon we were indulging in the food Vekel, the bartender, had served us. A few times T'mara looked around, and her face betrayed here, as she obviously did not like the dark and drab environment around the tavern. Brynjolf finally told her: "Lass, if you were expecting a palace, then maybe you're not cut out for being here. Our methods involve secrecy and discretion." He also mentioned that the bad luck, which seemed to follow the guild like a curse for years, seemed to be replaced with at least somewhat better times, since M'lissa had joined. "Larceny is in her blood, the telltale sign of a practiced thief. I think she does more than just fit in around here." While we ate, Delvin looked around and, after a while, addressed T'mara: "Looking at you, you might be as gifted as M'lissa is – have you ever tried your luck with pick pocketing or such?" The Khajiit was almost outraged: "No, I have not, and I do not intend to start, not now, and not ever!" Delvin raised his hands: "Wow, cool down – this was just a friendly banter between friends."

Getting down to business, we agreed to continue our arrangement as before. My companions (T'mara, Inigo, Lydia, and Jordis), my homes (currently Riverside Lodge and Breezehome) and I were going to be 'off limits' to the guild. As compensation, I'd not pursue guild members whenever I should observe some of them on their jobs, and I would, whenever the opportunity came up, inform the guild on specific profitable situations, such as cases of unjustified enrichment (specifically when the person on the receiving end could not be bothered by the law).

Once the business part was agreed upon, we had quite a good time talking and joking, and of course Brynjolf and Delvin could not resist the temptation to tease T'mara and me for drinking fruit juices rather than mead. But we were used to such friendly banter and did not mind; actually, we were rather proud of ourselves and in particular that we shared the same preference. Midnight was quite close when we finally parted and retired to our rooms in the inn.


	26. Chapter 26 - Visiting Fort Dawnguard

**Chapter 26: Visiting Fort Dawnguard**

_[12th - 23rd of Evening Star 4E 201]_

When we discussed our next plans during breakfast late in the next morning, I mentioned that I owed it to Isran, the Dawnguard leader, to introduce T'mara to him, and thus I talked to my Khajiit companion:

"Look, I altered my second Dawnguard armor for you, and Isran does not even know about you. While vampires are currently not really a threat, I'd consider it quite fair to at least pay a visit to the castle and have you formally introduced. They may also be willing do give you some more weapon training."

The Khajiit nodded slowly: "You have a point, and I'd also like to have a chat with this Sorine, who you said managed to improve the Dwemer weapons that much. How far is this place called Fort Dawnguard from here?"

I told her: "We will travel about half a day from here to the castle, so that we can do this at any time."

She agreed: "As I need a distraction from our yesterday´s visit to the orphanage, let's do this right now, please!"

I nodded: "Why not? Let's leave once we're done with breakfast and be at Fort Dawnguard for lunch!"

I also mentioned to T'mara that I had found a mysterious note in our room this morning, which had some kind of black hand print and just a few word: "We know!" - I did not know what this was for and neither did she.

We told Inigo and Lydia about our plans, and they were happy to spend a few days alone in Riften. Half an hour later, we marched out of Riften´s east gate and followed the road. As always, the trees around us presented their beautiful autumn leaves, although the calendar insisted that we were already in winter – I always believed that the area must be enchanted to permanently display the colorful signs of fall. With occasional sun rays shining through the yellow and red colored leaves and some foxes and rabbits crossing our path, we felt like we were on vacation, and we took our time walking eastward.

After a bridge we passed a road crossing, with an ascending path to the right leading up to a snow covered mountain and another ascending path to the left providing access to the Black-Briar Lodge, Maven's mansion outside of the city. The main road started to enter a gorge, with the mountains rising on both sides and getting closer to the road. Further east the road would lead to the border to Morrowind, but that was not our goal. Rather, I paid more attention to the hillside on the left, and soon I noticed the well hidden entrance to 'Dayspring Canon' next to a brazier, which would allow access to Fort Dawnguard. Entering the fissure, near darkness surrounded us soon, and we had to follow the narrow path for some time, before it opened up into a large valley, surrounded by snow covered peaks. Just a little bit further down there was a beautiful lake, partially ice covered, with a few waterfalls cascading down to it. Various flowers, mostly red and purple mountain flowers, as well as mushrooms covered the side of the path, and butterflies, luna moths and torchbugs were plentiful. A young Nord standing just in front of us, also admiring the view, introduced himself as Agmaer and admitted that he was here to apply for job with the Dawnguard, but being unsure if he was good enough to be accepted.

Chatting with Agmaer, we slowly proceeded to walk through the valley, and soon we saw an imposing fort emerging from the light fog ahead of us. Passing some tool sheds and palisades, we soon found the entrance to Fort Dawnguard further uphill and around a bend, with a guard standing watch; he recognized me and also greeted the others: "New recruits? Here to join the Dawnguard? Good. Isran will decide if you've got what it takes. Go on, he's right inside."

We entered the huge building, and Agmaer stepped in first, but stopped quickly when he was received with grim words: "You there, boy. Stop skulking in the shadows and step up here. What's your name?"

Agmaer almost started to stutter: "I'm, uh... my name is Agmaer, sir."

Isran snorted: "Do I look like a 'sir' to you, boy? I'm not a soldier, and you're not joining the army."

Agmaer replied: "Yes, si... Isran."

Isran asked: "Didn't I tell you to step forward? Hmm... Farm boy, eh? What's your weapon?"

Agmaer said: "Uh, my weapon? I mostly just use my pa's axe, when wolves are attacking the goats or something."

Isran looked disgusted: "'My pa's axe', Stendarr preserve us. Don't worry, I think we can make a Dawnguard out of you. Here, take this crossbow and let's see how you shoot."

Agmaer was not sure about this: "Uh, crossbow? I've never..."

Isran confirmed: "Yes, a crossbow. Best thing for killing vampires. Just take a few shots at those crates over there."

With Agmaer being busy for now, Isran turned to T'mara and me, and I had a chance to introduce her properly. Isran insisted that T'mara would have to get at least the basic Dawnguard training for a week or so. Fortunately, vampires were not a serious issue yet, but Isran claimed that we needed to be prepared, as there had been a few alarming incidents around Skyrim lately. T'mara was a little worried as we had planned to find her cousin M'lissa in Riften, but that could wait. We agreed for T'mara to be trained here for a week or so by Isran and others, while I would join my colleagues for a small quest or two. It turned out that Isran had such a task for me already in mind, and he told me to talk to Sorine about details.

Dropping off T'mara for her first Dawnguard weapons training, I looked for Sorine in the Fort's blacksmith area. I found her talking to Durak on some crossbow technical details, and when I joined them she explained that Isran was trying to get more experienced people to join the Dawnguard. She had one particular person in mind – a so-called Florentius Baenius – but she knew Isran to have a prejudice about this man; "the two of them never got along", she claimed. I guess that I needed to convince him first. Thus I returned to Isran and asked about the Florentius, just to be told: "Who said something, Sorine or Gunmar? I thought they'd have learned their lesson by now. I don't trust that man, and I don't want him here." I explained that Sorine thought we'd need his help, and he reluctantly admitted: "I suppose she's right. I shouldn't let my personal feelings get in the way. Last I'd heard of him, he was aiding the Vigilants of Stendarr at Ruunvald. He may still be there. If he can maintain some appearance of normalcy, I'll allow him to stay."

I was allowed to pick up Celann, a Breton and former Vigilant of Stendarr, as companion, and in the next morning we left for the Ruunvald Excavation site. I had told T'mara to expect me back within a few days and not to worry if I took a little longer; after all, I did not know how big the excavation site was and how deep we'd need to get in to find this Florentius. Getting there was not difficult, and we easily reached the site's exterior, located east of Shor's Stone partially up the mountain slope, shortly after noon. A journal was placed on a table in a tent, and reading it we guessed that something was not quite right with the state of the excavation. It looked like the excavation was started by the Vigilants of Stendarr, but something must have gone wrong. Curious, we entered the site and followed a wooden ramp downwards. The first Vigilant was right ahead of us, and Celann addressed him politely. However, the Vigilant did not respond and instead started to attack, so that my Dawnguard companion had to jump back quickly. As the Vigilant continued his attack moves, I did not have a choice and killed him with my greatsword. Two more Vigilants further down behaved in the same way, so that we surmised that the Vigilants here might all be under some kind of spell or charm. Fortunately, the charmed Vigilants did not fight as valiantly as the real ones, so that defeating them should not be too difficult.

Several charmed Vigilants and many stairs and passages later, we located the entrance to another section of Ruunvald. At several places we found volumes 1, 2, and 3 of a book called 'Discovering Ruunvald', and very close to the entrance there was volume 4. Celann and I read the books carefully and deduced that the Vigilants must be under a spell cast by a person 'Minorne', probably a mage or necromancer. We rested for a few minutes before entering the next section, I conjured Pammy, and we switched into sneak mode while entering.

The part called 'Ruunvald Temple', as we learned later on, started with a longer tunnel, which finally opened up into a larger chamber. Another journal like book, just called 'Minorne', told us that Florentius was caught and still resisted – looks we were at the right place. Silently I wondered how the evil mages had enough time to write books on their deeds. Turning around the next corner, we could see a person (probably Florentius) in a cage and another person in dark robes (looking like an Altmer, probably Minorne) throwing spells at the caged person. Not being fully sure about who was who, I called "Florentius?" into the room, which made the caged person look up with hope, and the robed person turn around, now firing spells at us. Celann and I quickly stepped to the side, and I shot one my bolts into the robed person. She – the shout was unmistakably female – cried out and stumbled, and I sent the next bolt. Before she could react, Pammy was there and attacked, and while she was defending herself against Pammy, I had crossed the room quickly and rammed my greatsword into her. With a sigh she expired, and at the same time all of the remaining charmed Vigilants in the room, which Celann had started to fight against, also sank to the ground.

Finally I had a chance to talk to the person we suspected to be Florentius, and he told us that Minorne had the key to his cage in her robes. I searched Minorne's robes, and not only found the key, but also some septims and a staff. Of course, Florentius was now released from his cage, and while he was sitting down and resting, he told his story. Basically, he confirmed what he had already guessed and read – somehow, Minorne had managed to charm an increasing number of Vigilants, until all of them were working for her and her mysterious purposes. Florentius, when he came to check on the progress of the excavation, was captured when entering the lower levels, and only his firm belief in Arkay, God/Lord of the Wheel of Life, the had prevented him from being charmed as well so far.

He finally said: "I just knew Arkay would save me. I asked for help, and he sent you! You are a very welcome addition to this dreary place, my friend. I owe both you and Arkay a great deal. I'm sure I'll manage to repay him later, but you... What can I do to thank you?"

I told him: "You can meet me at Fort Dawnguard. Isran needs your help."

Florentius found this hard to believe: "Isran? My help? Is this... some kind of a joke? Did Arkay put you up to this? Isran has done nothing but mock me. He's never given me the respect I deserve!"

However, when I insisted and mentioned the rising vampire threat, he was willing to come with us to the Fort, and so we left the area after we had collected more loot.

We had decided to spend the night in the camp just outside of the excavation site, and both Florentius and Celann were still talking when the night came, and I was starting to doze off. I had not planned to actually fall asleep yet and thus had not yet conjured Pammy for the night watch. My thoughts were drifting off, I was looking forward to returning to T'mara early, and I probably fell asleep after all.

When I awoke after some odd dreams, I noticed immediately that something was not right. I was no longer with Celann and Florentius, and neither were we sitting around a campfire. Rather, I seemed to be in some kind of shack. While I wondered what had happened a woman's voice seemed to address me: "Sleep well?"

Now I noticed a female Nord with a strange armor sitting on the top row of a shelf, on the opposite side of the room from me. I replied: "Who are you?"

She calmly explained: "Who I am really isn't as important as what I am. And what I am is an admirer. Of sorts."

This kind of explanation was not really helpful, and I was confused: "What? Where am I? Who are you?"

She smiled: "Does it matter? You are warm, dry... and still very much alive. That's more than can be said for old Grelod. Hmm?"

This surprised me: "You know about that?"

She confirmed: "Half of Skyrim knows. Old hag gets butchered in her own orphanage? Things like that tend to get around. Oh, but don't misunderstand. I'm not criticizing. It was a good kill. Old crone had it coming. And you saved a group of urchins, to boot. Ah, but there is a slight... problem."

I did not care to explain that it had not strictly been a 'kill', so that I just asked: "A problem?"

She explained further: "You see, that little Aretino boy was looking for the Dark Brotherhood. For me, and my associates. Grelod the Kind was, by all rights, a Dark Brotherhood contract. A kill... that you stole. A kill you must repay."

Naturally, I was slowly getting upset, but pretended to just be curious and asked: "You want me to murder someone else? Who?"

The women smiled and elaborated: "Well now. Funny you should ask. If you turn around, you'll notice my guests. I've collected them from... well, that's not really important. The here and now – that's what matters. You see, there's a contract out on one of them, and that person can't leave this room alive. But... which one? Go on, see if you can figure it out. Make your choice. Make your kill, I just want to observe... and admire."

I knew that I had not really killed Grelod, but she had rather suffered a stroke when T'mara and I had confronted her about he unkindness towards the orphans. I had not intention at all to join the Dark Brotherhood and rather wanted to help eliminating them. As this woman seemed to belong to them, killing her should be fair play. I did not want to warn her and thus did not get my greatsword out, but I carefully checked and confirmed that my magicka pool was full.

Stretching out my hands. I prepared the spells I had in mind while saying "I'll have no part of this insanity!" She responded with something ending in "You don't leave this shack until someone dies", when I just nodded and conjured Pammy with my left hand. This immediately got the woman's attention, and I quickly followed up by sending my most powerful lightning spell at her from my right hand. My fire spells were stronger then my lightning spells, but I did not want to set fire to the shack. As the woman had looked at Pammy, the sparks caught her by surprise, and while the woman on the shelf was getting shocked, Pammy attacked. The woman seemed to be quite a formidable warrior; she jumped down from the shelf and managed to hold off Pammy even after being shocked, but a few moments later I had my greatsword out, jumped across the room, and rammed my sword through her chest before she had a chance to react.

I still did not know the woman's name, but on her body I found the key to the shack, and I took her armor and the special dagger she had on her body. Naturally, before leaving, I untied all of the three captives and told them that they were free to go. Stepping outside, I was a little confused as I did not know exactly where I was. However, I had Pammy with me, and I tried to make her understand that she was supposed to guide me to the next city or town. She must have understood at least partially, as she soon started moving, and I followed her in an easy trot.

A few hours later we reached an area which looked somewhat familiar to me, and indeed we soon we approached the north gate of Morthal, the main city of the Hjaalmarch hold. I reported the death of the Dark Brotherhood in the local guardhouse, and the captain of the guard suggested that I also report to Commander Maro, who was known to reside at the Penitus Oculatus Outpost in Dragon Bridge. Naturally, returning to T'mara and Fort Dawnguard seemed to be a higher priority for me, and when I found a carriage about to leave from the city, and I jumped onto it when learning it was going to Riften eventually. Being reasonably tired by now, I slept most of the way.

Three days later the carriage arrived in Riften, and soon after entering the city I saw my friend Celann looking around. He was happy when he saw me and explained that Florentius and himself had been looking for me first outside around Ruunvald and later in the city. They were just about to abandon the search when they had now finally found me. After picking up Florentius at the inn, we left the city of Riften; as noon had barely passed, we wanted to get to Fort Dawnguard as quickly as possible to report on our findings and also make sure that Isran and T'mara did not have a reason to get worried about our extended absence.

Dawn came upon us when we approached Fort Dawnguard (pun intended :-) ), and we quickly met Isran, Gunmar, Sorine, and T'mara in the large dining hall, where dinner was already waiting for us. Fortunately they not only served mead, ale, and wine, but also apple juice and snowberry juice. After T'mara had hugged me and we had all eaten, Celann and I began to report. Celann started and told about our trip to Ruunvald, finding the Vigilants being charmed and attacking us, and how we finally had been able to defeat Minorne and free Florentius. He continued with our camp outside and finding me missing in the next morning, and about their search in the wilderness around the excavation site, and later on in Riften. I took over with the events of my abduction by the mysterious woman of the Dark Brotherhood, also explaining the background, with Grelod 'the Kind' being scared by T'mara and me and suffering a stroke. Narrating my fight against the assassin, my releasing the other prisoners, and my quick travel back to Riften completed the report.

Once we had all tried to digest the recent events, we got sleepy and quickly retired to our beds. Over the next few days, T'mara and I both attended some more weapons training. She also practiced with the crossbow, but found it a little heavy to use. While it dealt a heavier punch than a bow, T'mara seemed much more efficient with her lighter glass bow and the higher rate of fire she could maintain with it. Eventually, though, it was time to get back to Riften and meet M'lissa, and we bid farewell to Isran and our companions here. Before we left, Sorine told that she was working on further improved bolts and believed that she might eventually be able to manufacture Dwemer bolts rather than steel bolts, but still lacked some critical knowledge for that. I wondered if she could also look into improved arrow design, maybe? With the sun slowly rising above the mountain peaks around the fort, we walked off, through 'Dayspring Canyon' and towards Riften.

In Riften, we met Inigo and Lydia again; they told us that had some business to take care of today and hoped that we could meet in the evening for dinner.

[Author's Note: Although I know that it's only a game I strictly refuse to do the Dark Brotherhood quests in both TES IV and TES V, and when playing Skyrim, I always kill Astrid and do the "Destroy the Dark Brotherhood" quest]


	27. Chapter 27 - Amulet(s) of Mara

**Chapter 27: Amulet(s) of Mara**

_[23rd - 25th of Evening Star 4E 201]_

Riften – I recalled my conversation with Jordis and my intention to get my hands on an amulet of Mara as soon as I could. As it happened, we ran into M'lissa just after we had paid for a room at the 'Bee and Barb', and immediately T'mara and M'lissa were starting to have some girl talk. Excusing myself, I stepped out of the inn and strolled through the city, to soon find the Temple of Mara. Entering it, I initiated a conversation with a priest who called himself Maramal: "I want to know more about the Temple of Mara."

He smiled: "Wonderful. Where to begin? Mara is the Goddess of Love. The temple spreads her gifts by tending to the sick, the poor, and the lost. We also perform wedding ceremonies for all the loving couples in Skyrim."

I was not sure I had understood properly: "I could have a wedding at the temple?"

He confirmed: "Yes. If you were ready, of course. Are you familiar with how marriage works in Skyrim?"

I had never really cared about that and had to admit: "No, not really."

Maramal elaborated: "Typically, love in Skyrim is as earnest as the people who live here. Life is hard and short, so there is little room for long courtship. A person who is looking for a spouse simply wears an Amulet of Mara about the neck, showing they are available. When another person shows interest, and the two agree to be together, one of them comes to the Temple and we arrange a ceremony."

I did have a special question, though: "Maramal, the person I love is a Khajiit – is that an issue for Mara?"

Maramal responded: "Khajiit or men or mer, Mara embraces all intelligent races. If there is love between you on both sides, Mara will be with you – don't worry."

Encouraged by his words, I decided to purchase an amulet: "I'll buy an Amulet of Mara!"

Maramal beamed when he heard that. I handed over the gold and received an amulet in return; the priest explained: "Here you are. Now remember, people in Skyrim respond to deeds. You will find more people interested in your love if you help them. Good luck. Mara bless you."

My final question was: "Can you tell me more about Mara's beliefs?"

Maramal responded: "Mara's domain encompasses the emotions we strive the most to embrace; love, compassion and understanding. It's difficult to appreciate her gifts in these dark times, but you should consider her light a beacon in the storm."

I thought about this some time while sitting down on a bench in the temple - "love, compassion, and understanding" - wasn't that exactly what I was feeling for T'mara? More and more I was convinced that wearing the amulet for her was the right thing to do. I mean, I knew that she was having some feelings for me, too, and although there was a risk that I had misunderstood her feelings entirely (judged by what Inigo and Jordis had told me that seemed to be very unlikely, though) worst case she'd need more time, I guessed.

Slowly I walked out of the temple and towards the inn again. The sun was still up, and before I reached the inn, T'mara stepped out looking for me. When she saw me, she immediately told me that she needed to talk to me, and we should find a place where we wouldn't be disturbed for some time. I offered to take the lead, and so we quickly walked out of the southwestern city gate. Not far from the gate there were a few tiny islands in Lake Honrich, and I found one of them with a soft blanket of grass; getting there the water did not even touch our knees. On the island we could sit down surrounded by the lake water, some ducks and swans, and a few butterflies attracted by the isolated mountain flowers on the island. She liked the spot and told me so, and of course now I was very curious about what she wanted to tell me. Naturally, I expected that she had learned something important from M'lissa.

However, she stayed silent for a few minutes, looking in my eyes all of the time; although this disturbed me a little bit, I found it always kind of mesmerizing to look into her eyes with slits rather than round pupils. Finally, T'mara reached under her tunic and slowly pulled out an amulet, which she now wore clearly visible for me. Just having purchased such an amulet myself a few hours ago, I recognized it to be an Amulet of Mara right away, and first smiled because I was happy that she had a similar taste for jewelry. However, after a few seconds I became aware of the implication – Maramal had just reiterated that to me – and exactly why I had bought such an amulet myself. She had completely caught me by surprise, and nervously I started to stutter: "Are you … wearing this amulet … for me?" She slowly nodded and continued to look at me, apparently very concerned about my reaction. I continued: "Wow – that was quite unexpected. Let me show you what I think about it..." and pulled out my own amulet, adding: "I was looking for the right time to wear my amulet for you, but you beat me to it, I guess. Let this be my answer!" She almost could not believe what she saw, but when she finally understood that we had been thinking along the same lines, her eyes seemed to become even bigger and she jumped right into my lap, burying her head at my neck and starting to sob. I already suspected that she cried out of pure joy rather than hurt, and she confirmed this between her tears.

T'mara told me that she had thought about getting an Amulet of Mara for some time already, and when she had talked to M'lissa about her feelings towards me, M'lissa had given her such an amulet right away. Right on the spot T'mara had decided to go ahead with her plans before she ran out of courage.

As the sun was about to set, we walked back to the city hand in hand, to meet Inigo and Lydia in the 'Bee and Barb' for dinner. Of course, T'mara was very excited and could not wait to spill the news, which made Inigo smile and Lydia actually jump up. They were both very happy for us, and the dinner turned into some kind of small celebration. Understandably we retired to our room quite early. The practice in kissing we had had earlier this month at the hot springs proved to be very useful this night, and sleep claimed us much later than usual.

After breakfast in the next morning, T'mara and I moved outside of the city again and found our way to the tiny island we had occupied yesterday. Fortunately, the sun was shining, as we had to talk about various topics. Naturally, we started discussing when our wedding should take place. "Basically", I told T'mara, "I do not mind much if we have a small or a big wedding – what would you prefer?" The Khajiit thought about this for a minute and responded: "I do not know yet. On one hand a big wedding would be really nice, on the other hand I might be scared with having lots of people around.". I nodded: "Yes, but I am not sure if we actually have a real choice. I mean, we could get married here in Riften with almost no guests at all, maybe just with M'lissa and Brynjolf as witnesses. But, we are both Thanes of Whiterun. I imagine that both Jarl Balgruuf the Greater and some others we know in Whiterun would be severely disappointed to learn that we got wed without them. Mila, for instance, would hate me for doing this to her – years ago I already promised her to invite her to my wedding whenever it was going to happen!". T'mara understood: "Good point, and I fully agree. It would be impolite at least not to invite the Jarl and some of our friends in Whiterun." - "What about this", I suggested, "let us write a letter to Jarl Balgruuf informing him about our plans and asking him if he has specific suggestions?" T'mara liked this:"Oh yes, please, can you write that letter?"

After a few attempts I wrote the following letter and we both signed it:

_Riften, 24__th__ of Evening Star 4E 201_

_To Jarl Balgruuf the Greater of Whiterun_

_My Jarl, your Thanes Timotheus of Riverwood and T'mara of Whiterun have decided  
to follow the example of Mara, and we intend to get wed. As we are currently in Riften,  
we kindly ask for your preference to either come to Riften for the wedding or have  
the ceremony celebrated in Whiterun at a time of your convenience. Also, please let us  
know if you have specific guidance on how the wedding should be performed._

_With deepest regards, Thane Timotheus and Thane T'mara_

We tasked a courier to deliver the letter to Whiterun as quickly as possible and bring a return letter, which we should expect in four to five days from now.

In the afternoon we met M'lissa again, and she was so excited when she heard that T'mara and I had both shown each other our amulets and were now engaged. She said that she was likely to miss our wedding, as she was supposed to go on a longer mission together with her guildmaster. "You know", she told us, "there is this story about Karliah, a former guild member. 'Karliah destroyed everything this Guild stood for; she murdered my predecessor in cold blood and betrayed the Guild', Mercer said. It seems that she is still alive, and based on what we have recently learned, Mercer Frey believes that she might hide in a place called 'Snow Veil Sanctum'. He wants me to meet him there in a week, and this could be a lengthy pursuit."

"By the way", she added, "do you know the story about the two friends climbing high up in the Jerall mountains?" Without waiting for an answer she continued. "Close to the top of one of the highest peaks one of them slips on a patch of ice and falls down the steep mountainside. The other one calls down: 'Are you hurt?' and gets the reply: 'Nooooo'. He is surprised: 'How come?' and gets the final reply: 'Still falling!' " T'mara and I looked at each other, shaking our heads – M'lissa and her jokes. Later in the evening we also talked to Lydia and Inigo and told them that we were waiting for a reply from Whiterun, and for the next few day they were free to do whatever they wanted.

While T'mara and I still had a lot to talk about, we did not really want to sit around lazily. As the next morning greeted us with bright sunshine and blue sky, I suggested to walk around Lake Honrich and enjoy the beautiful Rift forest and weather – T'mara agreed immediately. Thus, after a nice breakfast and packing lunch, we started hiking, leaving Riften through the southwestern gate. The Snow-Shod farm was just half an hour of walking from the city, and when we noticed the farmer, Addvild, sweating while doing some harvesting, we jumped in and helped reaping leeks and potatoes for an hour or so, refusing any payment. Before we left, he mentioned: "I'm glad there are guards outside the farm. I don't think I could defend the place alone." I guessed that even the few guards wouldn't help much against a dragon, but at least they'd deter bandits.

While walking further westward and passing the bridge to 'Goldenglow Estate' – according to rumors, there had been a fire destroying some of the beehives some time ago – I asked T'mara if she'd care to explain why she had decided to get wed to me. She smiled, looked at me, and elaborated: "You know, since that day when we first climbed up to High Hrothgar and I had kind of thrown myself into your arms while sleeping, I had realized that this was not just for receiving body heat. I found out that I immensely enjoyed being very close to you, and I just felt happy and content. Later on, specifically during our two times at the hot springs, when I almost fainted while kissing you, I knew that I wanted to have you with me like that a lot. And finally, I talked to Lydia about my feelings, and she encouraged me to do what I did. Whatever happens and whatever further tasks are waiting for me, I just know I want to be together with you, day and night." I beamed and kissed her very deeply, before we resumed out walk.

Hours later, around noon, we found a mill close to the lake shore. Approaching it, we talked to Grosta, who told us that this was 'Heartwood Mill'. She lived here with her husband, Leifnarr, and her son, Gralnach. Her husband, though, had not returned from his last trip, and she suspected him to be with another woman: "If you see my good-for-nothing husband Leifnarr on your journeys tell him he's no longer welcome here." Meanwhile, she was struggling to keep the mill running: "With just myself and one child, it's damn near impossible. With Leifnarr gone, it's really put me in a terrible bind. I'm having trouble making ends meet. At this rate, we won't last more than a few more seasons at best. Then I'll just have to sell the old place." Spontaneously, we decided to help out by chopping wood, and T'mara and I alternated swinging the axe until we had chopped quite some heap of wood. Grosta served us lunch, which we happily accepted. We played a few rounds of hide and seek with Gralnach and collected some flowers from around the mill, when the sun was getting close to the horizon. There was no inn around, but we had our bedrolls with us, and so we just made camp at the mill with Pammy guarding our sleep.

Quite early in the next morning we rose and continued our hike around the lake. We crossed the water on the bridge and soon saw the walls of 'Faldar's Tooth' looming before us. This place was, as we had heard, known as a bandit lair, and as we were not in a mood for a big bandit fight today, we switched into sneak mode and passed undetected. After we had the fort safely behind us, it was T'mara´s turn to ask a question: "Does it bother you to be engaged to a Khajiit rather than to a human girl?" I was surprised to hear that question, but I could understand her concern and replied: "First of all, for me there is nothing to compare. I have never really been in love with a girl before, and thus I cannot tell if or how this might be different. Second, as you know, I had divine guidance in meeting you, and I firmly believe that Akatosh had planned for us to fall in love right from the start. Third, when I am with you, I do not care about other girls at all, neither human nor anything else." And I continued, with a slight blush: "Since I was a child, I have been used to sleeping with a teddy bear. My parents knew a toymaker who prepared little stuffed animals for children to cuddle with while sleeping, and I always had my favorite teddy bear in my bed, even as an adult, and I still have one or two of them in Riverside Lodge. This may sound crazy, but when I cuddle with you, feeling your smooth fur reminds me of my teddy bear and makes me enjoy that so much...". She looked at me, smirked, and joked: "So, I am like a teddy bear to you?" And I nodded sheepishly. She could not contain herself any longer, and burst out laughing, myself joining in. Still smiling, she assured me: "I hope that I will be able to show you a few things a teddy bear is not able to do!" and confirmed this with placing a very hot kiss on my lips.

Around noon time we arrived at 'Merryfair Farm', being almost back to Riften now on the northern shore of the lake. The farmer couple, Dravin and Synda Llanith, were working hard in their garden, and again we joined and helped to harvest produce, mostly cabbage and gourds. Dravin was grateful and blessed us with "Azura's wisdom to you, friends."

Hearing that, T'mara asked: "Azura – do you happen to know where her shrine is located?"

Dravin scatched his head and replied: "I am not sure, but I think it can be found somewhere in Winterhold, high up in the mountains. People say that the statue on top of the shrine can be seen from quite some distance."

I looked at my Khajiit companion curiously: "Is there a feeling or an inner voice calling you to Azura?"

She told me: "Not, not really, but I have been told that she is one of the more merciful and benevolent Daedric Princes, and many Khajiit in Elsweyr revere Azura. I have heard some Khajiit say that Azura was supposedly involved in the creation of our race, and I would cherish a chance to talk to her."

That being said, we slowly walked back towards Riften and entered through the northern gate. Strolling around in the marketplace. T'mara mercifully gave a few septims each to the beggars Edda and Snilf, and we browsed the wares the Argonian Madesi offered. While we were looking around, Madesi admitted that he urgently needed to get a mammoth tusk, a gold core, and two flawless sapphires, as the bandit presence on the roads prevented himself from getting those items. T'mara smiled as she found out that she actually had all of those in her magical pouch (both of us had magically enchanted pouches allowing us to carry more and larger items than we'd normally be able to), and she willingly sold the items to Madesi, who also rewarded her with a nice necklace. That being done, we enjoyed a filling hot meal at the inn and decided to walk around the docks and hopefully see a beautiful sunset before getting to our room. However, our time looking at the sunset was interrupted by seeing a female Argonian who looked very sick. After casting a restoration spell on her and giving her a potion of minor healing, she confessed that she was addicted to Skooma. We did not know about Skooma dealing in Riften, but maybe this should be highlighted to the local authorities.

However, as dusk was upon us, this would have to wait for the next day. Right now, T'mara and I were much more interested in being close to each other in our room.

[Authors' Note: I do like teddy bears and still have some of them]


	28. Chapter 28 - Riften Thaneship

**Chapter 28: Riften Thaneship**

_[26th - 28th of Evening Star 4E 201]_

[Author's Note: Updates are slower now as I am running out of prewritten chapters; however, I am still working on the story]

As we were still waiting for a reply from the Jarl of Whiterun, I suggested to pay a visit to the local Jarl here in Riften on the next day, specifically as we wanted to highlight the skooma dealing issue. During visitor's hours, we strolled over to Mistveil Keep and were first greeted by the Jarl´s steward, a female Bosmer: "Welcome to Mistveil Keep. I'm Jarl Laila´s steward, Anuriel."

I asked: "What do you do around here?"

He explained: "As steward, I serve as an intermediary between the Jarl and her subjects. I also handle the less important and day-to-day policies that effect daily life in Riften. Lately I've had my hands full suppressing these ridiculous accusations of corruption in the keep."

I was curious about that: "What are the rumors of corruption you mentioned?"

He told us: "There are those that believe the Jarl does nothing for this city... that it's corrupt and run by the Black-Briar family. I can assure you that this is entirely false. We are fully in control of everything."

I was not quite so sure about this, but did not want to dig deeper at this time. After all, we wanted to talk to the Jarl and probably should avoid offending her. Now being allowed to approach her, T'mara said: "I've discovered a skooma dealer in Riften."

The Jarl seemed to be surprised, but replied nonetheless: "Yes, I'm afraid we're aware of Sarthis´s presence in the warehouse. Unfortunately, we're certain he has informants within the city guard. Every time we've made a move to arrest him, he has escaped. However, if you'd take care of this discreetly, you might be able to surprise him without warning."

T'mara liked the idea to stop skooma dealing and agreed: "Sure, we'll do it."

Laila Law-Giver smiled: "Excellent. Here, this is the key to the warehouse. See if you can drop in on this dealer of poison and convince him to close down his operation permanently."

With that, we were dismissed and decided to get to work right away. Once we had left the keep, T'mara looked up at me and asked: "I hope you don't mind my agreeing to that task without asking you first?" and I replied: "No, that's okay – this is probably something which needs to be done anyway". Using the key we had received from the Jarl, we entered the warehouse and went into sneak mode. We soon located the suspected skooma dealer Sarthis together with a bodyguard. Originally we had planned to talk to him, arrest him and bring him to the local jail, but as soon as he learned about our intention he started to attack with his bodyguard, so that we did not have a choice and had to kill them both. Searching the place, we found an odd note in the basement, mentioning something about a shipment of moon sugar – the main ingredient of skooma – waiting in a place called 'Cragslane Cavern'. I guess that the Jarl needed to learn about this, and thus we rushed back to Mistveil Keep.

We were admitted right away and T'mara reported: "Sarthis Idren has been taken care of."

Jarl Laila smiled: "It's nice to receive good news for a change. Did you recover anything else from the warehouse worth mentioning?"

T'mara handed over the note we had found and confirmed: "We've discovered the source of the skooma."

The jarl stated: "Then there's no time to lose. It won't take long for Sathis's associates to learn of his death. The source of the poison must be destroyed once and for all, otherwise another dealer will simply take his place. Do this task for me and you'll be well on your way to a title in Riften."

T'mara agreed, this time after looking at me briefly and seeing my slight nod: "I'll make sure it's done."

Jarl Laila sent us off: "Good. Report back to me when your task is complete."

Outside of the keep I told T'mara: "The cavern is located north of Shor's Stone, according to my map. If you want, we can get this done, and once we're back in Riften, the letter from Whiterun will probably just have arrived." T'mara agreed: "Yes, let's get this task done and then focus on our wedding preparations!" Motivated by those thoughts, we started walking, but before leaving the city I first guided T'mara to the 'Pawned Prawn', Riften´s general store. A few day ago I had been here without T'mara and asked the proprietor, Bersi Honey-Hand, if he could alter a bedroll for me to make it large enough to fit T'mara beside myself. He had promised to get it done, and it should be ready today. We entered the store, and indeed he had my special job ready, so that I took it from him and paid the money we had agreed on.

Outside again T'mara of course asked why I had a need for a new bedroll. With a slight blush I explained that I had had the idea of getting a single bedroll for the two of us since our first trip to the Greybeards, but had only recently dared to actually order it; with my size it needed to be custom made. Now, with the two of us being engaged, I told her, I wondered if we should start using it right away or if she'd rather wait until after the wedding. "Don't you dare to wait!" she exclaimed while smiling happily. "I will get rid of my old bedroll, and I insist that we use your new one as soon as we can!" With that she was back in the store, selling her bedroll, and back in a minute. "Where are we going to be next night, by the way?" I suggested: "It is barely noon now, so that we should be able to get to Shor's Stone today and camp in the town center again, like last time, I guess, to start for the cavern tomorrow – what do you think?" She smiled: "Sounds like a plan – let's go!"

Like for the last trip, we preferred to take the side road to avoid Fort Greenwall, and arrived in Shor's Stone while the sun was still up. The locals were happy to see us again, but Filnjar, who had mentioned some spiders in the lower levels of the mine last time, now said that the spiders had claimed the entire mine, and no miner dared to go there any longer. Even more, the miners were afraid of the spiders maybe leaving the mine at night searching for food in the town. T'mara looked at me: "What about clearing the mine before settling down for the night?" I nodded and suggested to Filnjar: "T'mara and I will clear the mine for you. Would you mind preparing dinner so that we can eat when we're back?" We left our packs here and stepped into Redbelly Mine. Knowing that the frostbite spiders did not like fire, I had my fireball spell ready, and T'mara prepared to shout. A group of three spiders attacked us right on the first level, and my pretty Khajiit burned them with "_YOL_". One level down, we found another group of three, and I used my fireball to kill them. After searching all levels and making sure that we had not missed a single spider, we also burned the remaining spider webs and eggs, and we left the mine happily. As the ebony mine was quite small, the whole task had not taken more than half an hour, and dinner was not even ready yet.

When darkness came upon us, a very grateful Filnjar had finished preparing dinner together with Sylgja, and we merrily sat together around the campfire. Every once in a while T'mara looked at me in a kind of strange way, and once or twice she almost seemed to shiver – I needed to ask her later if she was about to become sick. A couple of hours later we were all ready to go to bed; the miners usually got up early for their daily work, and I was also getting a little tired. I had already set up our tent and (now single) bedroll before dinner, so that T'mara and I were soon about to find out how well the new bedroll might fit. It turned out that it fit very well indeed, and as intended it was large enough for my big frame plus a petite Khajiit, but also tight enough to enforce close body contact, which of course had been my intention right from the start. When we had finally managed to find a comfortable position, I asked T'mara if she was getting sick with her shivering and such. She admitted that she had only been very curious about our position in the new bedroll, and that somehow thinking about it had made her shiver a few times. Now, as we were sharing body heat, there was no more shivering, but soon a lot of purring from her side, and I also really liked our closeness a lot.

Drizzling rain woke us up again early in the next morning, and we only had a very quick breakfast before leaving for 'Cragslane Cavern'. After a quick look at the map, we decided to first go east towards Ruunvald, and then follow a small path through a valley north, passing 'Tolvald's Cave' and 'Ansilvund' to our right and finally getting to our target cavern. When looking at the cavern entrance from some distance, we not only noticed a likely bandit to stand guard, but also a few cages with wolves in them. T'mara whispered: "Why do they keep wolves in cages there?" and I replied that I did not know. We decided that we need to learn more about what was happening here before entering the cavern, and thus carefully sneaked closer. When I was right behind the bandit, I quickly held my sword very close to his throat and suggested he talk if he did not want to die. After a few more threats he admitted that this cavern was used by skooma dealers and gamblers and that they used the wolves for fights with bets. T'mara looked really disgusted when hearing that. For a moment my attention slackened, and the bandit quickly stepped back from my sword, getting his own sword out. T'mara however was quicker, and she ripped his throat out before he could initiate any further action.

We had not learned how many enemies we wold meet in the cave, but this did not deter us. For the time being, we left the caged wolves outside and carefully entered the cavern. Close to the entrance, a man was standing guard close to a torch, and he immediately spotted us. He warned us to stay outside if we did not belong to the betting team, and we had to eliminate him. Further down and around a corner, the passage opened into some kind of larger hall. Carefully looking around the corner, we noticed some kind of fighting area with two wolves threatening each other, more wolves in cages, four bandits involved in conversation, and even a small bar with a barkeeper. On the bar, we could clearly see a few bottles filled with moon sugar and skooma. We looked at each other and silently agreed that we did not have a choice – all of the bandits needed to die. The Riften Jarl had not explicitly asked us to kill them all, but by implication that seemed to be the only option to stop the operation.

Ignoring the wolves for now, we started to operate our crossbow and bow from the passage, and as we were still sneaking and shooting from a dark area, the bandits did not recognize right away where the bolts and arrows were coming from. Very soon, only the barkeeper was left standing; he ducked behind the bar, but could not evade us when we approached from two sides. On his body we found a key to a nearby chest with more supply of moon sugar and skooma. Carefully searching the cavern, we made sure that we had found all bandits and also not missed valuable content in chests. Now, only the question what to do with the cages wolves remained, and the two ones in the pit. Cautiously I stepped close to the pit, but soon the two wolves, who had not killed each other, bared their teeth and growled. T'mara confirmed my suspicion that at least the wolves inside were no longer able to live in a natural environment, and we killed them. The wolves in the cages outside, though, were less aggressive. After conjuring Pammy and opening the cages, I could see them trotting into the forest and hopefully adapt to wildlife again.

There were still a few hours of daylight left, and we hurried to get back to Shor's Stone to spend another night there. One day later we marched towards Riften and hurried to Mistveil Keep to report to the Jarl. We were admitted, and T'mara reported: "The Cragslane operation has been stopped."

The Jarl liked that message: "Well done! Your continued efforts have been of great benefit to the people of Riften. Allow me to present you with this compensation for your selfless efforts – this weapon is called 'Blade of the Rift' ".

T'mara received a nice and powerful looking axe from the Jarl, who continued: "I have been informed by my steward that you've mad quite an impression in the Rift; several of our citizens have expressed their admiration. Much like Mjoll, you've become champion of our hold; helping people with their difficulties and providing assistance for their needs. As the Jarl of Riften, I feel that it is my duty to honor your selfless behavior with the title of Thane of Riften. Before I can present you with the title, though, there is but a single requirement you must fulfill. A Thane of Riften is expected to maintain permanent residence within the city walls. My steward has such a home available for purchase. I think you'll find the accommodations to be most pleasing. When the house is yours, return to me and I will present you with the title."

Walking over to her steward, Anuriel, we found that a nice house was available for purchase in Riften indeed. It was called Honeyside, had a dock, a porch, and a garden. T'mara had seen it before from outside and looked at me: "Please, let's buy this house. I'd really love to have a house here, to use whenever we visit M'lissa!" I did not mind and actually had enough septims with me, so that I bought the house for us, plus some furnishing.

Once we had completed the transaction, we addressed the Jarl again, and T'mara was now told: "T'mara Dragonborn, by my authority as Jarl of Riften, I pronounce you Thane of Riften and award you all the benefits befitting your station. I have assigned a housecarl to you, and she waits for you in your home. Congratulations!"

T'mara managed to bow and thanked the Jarl, and we left the Keep. Outside, she turned to me and asked: "When the Jarl said something about permanent residence, does this imply that we have to live here most of the time?" I replied: "No, it does not. We need to have a home here, but we do not need to stay here all of the time. Otherwise you could never be a Thane of more than one hold." T'mara looked happy:" All right, good. One more question, though. We have basically done all the requirements for the Thaneship together, but the Jarl has only pronounced me to be Thane. You earn it as much as I do – this is not right!" I smiled: "Sure, technically you are correct. However, this is what I told you some time ago about political ambitions – having the Dragonborn as Thane is much more of a statement than having anybody else, and that's probably why she selected you. That's all right, I do not mind. Now let's see our home and meet the new housecarl!"

Taking our time, we strolled across the Riften marketplace and found our new home right next to 'Haelga's Bunkhouse'. T'mara had received the key from Anuriel and we entered right away, to find our new housecarl sitting at the kitchen table. She was a female Nord, clad in steel armor, and introduced herself as Iona. Not knowing much about her new Thane's history she started to explain her duties as housecarl, but T'mara interrupted her saying that she knew about that part, as she already had Lydia as housecarl in Whiterun. Iona was visibly impressed to hear about T'mara´s second thaneship, and even more when she learned that she was Dragonborn, a detail Jarl Laila had neglected to tell her.

We had a closer look at the house and all rooms now and found out that the place was only partially furnished at this time; some of the updates would be done during the next days, as promised by the Jarl's steward. Iona presented a letter which had recently arrived, addressed to both us; T'mara and I opened it and saw a message from Jarl Balgruuf the Greater. He congratulated us on our engagement and insisted that we perform the ceremony in Whiterun, in Dragonsreach. "I'd be severely disappointed and offended if my two Thanes decided to get wed anywhere else", he wrote, which was what we had already assumed. He had also added: "Please try to be here in Whiterun before the New Life Festival!"

"All right", I said, "let's get Inigo and Lydia in here for planning. Iona, can you please find them in the 'Bee and Barb' and guide them here. A female Nord together with a male Khajiit should be easy to identify!" Indeed Iona managed to get them here within ten minutes, and we explained the content of the letter to them. We checked at the stables to make sure a carriage to Whiterun was scheduled to leave tomorrow morning and booked seats for all of us. Even Iona was to join us, as this was a good opportunity for her to meet lots of our friends. We also sent a quick letter to Jarl Balgruuf telling him that we were about to leave for Whiterun and that we'd accept his gracious offer and sent if off per courier immediately. We spent one more night at the inn, as the master bedroom in our new home was not ready yet.


	29. Chapter 29 - The big wedding

**Chapter 29: The big wedding**

_[29__th__ of Evening Star 4E 201 – 3__rd__ of Morning Star 4E 202]_

Traveling in a carriage in a larger group was quite some fun, as it turned out. The 'girls' were chatting almost continuously, and caused by the amount of noise emitted by them no wildlife came even close to the wagon. Even the occasional drizzle was not stopping them, before we finally arrived at our intermediate stop in Ivarstead. Wilhelm only had two rooms available, but Jordis and Iona volunteered to sleep in their bedrolls in the main room. As usual, T'mara and I got to enjoy our dinner with milk, while the others indulged in mead for drinks. Navigating the pass to Helgen on the next day, a few bandits and necromancers tried to get close to us, but we just used that as opportunity to stretch our legs – they had totally underestimated our feistiness. Other than that, nothing interrupted our journey.

Later in the afternoon we arrived at the Whiterun Stables, paid the driver, and entered the city. For this one night, our companions would have to find rooms in the local inns, as Breezehome was by far not big enough to fit us all. However, as we wanted to discuss some details with the Jarl, we wanted to be in the city for now rather than in Riverside Lodge. Also, day after tomorrow was going to be the 'New Life Festival', and we did not want to miss the celebrations. I had frequently attended this festival already in previous years, but it would be a first for T'mara.

Although dusk was very close, T'mara and I hurried up to Dragonsreach to make sure that the Jarl knew about our arrival. After entering the keep through the big portal, Irileth spotted us and waved us up, so that we quickly stepped up to the throne. We both bowed, and before we could greet the Jarl, he called out: "It's good to see you back, and I am really happy about you two. As a matter of fact, I have decided to get you wed as part of the New Life Festival celebrations day after tomorrow, and you'd better go along with my plans!" - the last was said with a smirk on his face.

T'mara looked a little bit flustered and commented: "Oh, but we have not done much planing yet..."

But Jarl Balgruuf replied: "Nonsense – you are both my Thanes, and Proventus and I have done the preparations already. Danica will perform the rites, practically everybody in Whiterun is invited for the celebrations, and all you have to do is look happy and smile – I am quite sure that you can do this!"

My pretty Khajiit fiancée looked at me, and I could see that she was not entirely convinced, but I just nodded and told our Jarl that we were thankful for his preparations and offer and we'd be ready of course. Soon, when we were back in Breezehome, T'mara started to voice some doubts, but I was able to comfort her:

"Look, I have known Jarl Balgruuf the Greater for years, and he is nothing but efficient. If he tells us everything is taken care of, there's nothing to worry about. Let's just relax and enjoy and do what we are both looking forward to – getting married!"

While I felt that she was almost convinced now, I thought about another issue and continued: "Unless you'd want to have more time to get some of your relatives from Elsweyr here for the celebration...".

She quickly responded: "No, they broke with me and sent me away, and I do not want to have them around for this particular day at all." I did help her to relax with some back scratching and cuddling, too.

Finally, the big day had arrived. Our housecarls had insisted that we should respect the tradition and not spend the night prior to the wedding together. Inigo and Jordis had 'abducted' me to Riverside Lodge, while Lydia and Iona were tending T'mara at Breezehome. We were supposed to meet at the temple of Kynareth in Whiterun early in the morning, have the ceremony performed by Danica either inside or outside, depending on the weather, and proceed up to Dragonsreach for the main party, which was supposed to go on all day long.

During the night I spent in Riverside Lodge I had another vision of Akatosh – he was mostly smiling at me and just saying something like "Well done, my son – I am proud of you!". As with those visions before, I could clearly remember it when waking up, and it helped me through the day. I had to get up quite early in the morning to be properly dressed and have enough time for the walk to Whiterun. Inigo and Jordis escorted me, and we managed to arrive right on time in front of the Whiterun temple. Dark clouds were already visible on the horizon promising some snow, but for the time being the sun was shining brightly. My bride was still hidden behind her escorts, and I wondered for a moment who would guide her to the altar, as she did not have any relatives here in Skyrim.

Finally Danica waved and the ceremony was about to start. While most of us were dressed warmly to counter the cold, some special Nords like Aela showed lots of skin, but they even did that in subzero temperatures. The sun was still shining and we were glad to be outdoors; fitting all of the guests into the temple might have been a challenge. When I walked towards the altar which was set up on a table which had been taken outside, Jarl Balgruuf the Greater himself guided my bride to the front. Her dress was a combination of white and light blue I had not seen before (and I guess I wasn't supposed to, of course), and she looked absolutely stunning. The Jarl said a few words about being proud guiding his Thane to the altar, and there we were. At the end of the day I could not recall what I said, but it must have been the right phrase at the right time, because eventually Danica declared us husband and wife and congratulated us. A cheer from many throats sounded out around us, and for quite some time we shook hands with all of our friends, and I got a very warm and firm hug from my special friend Mila. It was a real good feeling for both of us to be surrounded by our many friends, including the Companions and most citizens of Whiterun.

By now the thick clouds had moved closer and started to hide the sun, and a light wind started to blow. While Danica was getting her equipment inside, Proventus Avenicci, the Jarl´s steward, called out to invite us to Dragonsreach. He mentioned that everybody being here as guest and everybody in Whiterun was invited for the party, both to celebrate our wedding and the New Life Festival. The first snowflakes were coming down, and we started to move towards the keep. Fortunately Proventus knew about T'mara and me not imbibe alcoholic drinks, and jugs of milk and snowberry juice were provided in addition to the barrels of mead, ale, and wine. The big fire in the main hall of Dragonsreach was already warming the room, and some game was turned on sticks over the fire by kitchen assistants.

Before lunch was served and while my wife was talking to some friends, I called Iona (T'mara´s Riften housecarl) and Jordis (my own Solitude housecarl) over into a corner and asked them to hurry to Riften right now. While I was not sure where my pretty Khajiit wanted to spend the honeymoon, Whiterun would be too busy, and Winterhold too new. I suspected that she might prefer our house 'Honeyside' in Riften, which was nice and cozy and had an own dock and exit from the city, and I was certainly going to suggest that – we had totally forgotten to discuss honeymoon plans during the last days. Iona and Jordis were needed to go shopping in advance and make sure that the larder was filled for a few days, so that we did not have to leave the house unless we wanted to. In addition, they were to make sure that the furnishing was complete by now, and they were encouraged to add to it where applicable. Knowing what Jarls and stewards usually offered as standard furnishing, it might not hurt to add a certain degree of 'female touch'. Both housecarls smiled when they heard about my plans, and they agreed that Honeyside would be very suitable for a honeymoon, not just because of the term 'honey' was part of both names. They promised to leave right away and do all of the preparations.

Meanwhile, Jarl Balgruuf had his steward ask for everybody's attention, and he started to deliver a speech. I was quite excited on that day and did not remember most of what he said, but is was something about being proud to have the Dragonborn and her companion of his hold, and counting as not only as valuable citizens, but also as friends. He hoped that we would be able to make some progress on the dragon threat and promised his support as much as possible. When he had finished, he waved us up to his side and gave both of us a hug and a handshake. T'mara was emotionally touched and looked at me, so that I stepped forward and thanked the Jarl for his words. I promised that we'd work together, not only on the dragon issue, but also for the benefit of the hold, and that we were proud to count ourselves as citizens of Whiterun and not another hold primarily. I closed saying that we were both proud and happy to have so many good friends around here, and that we wanted to continue the good relations.

A lot of cheering and applauding followed my words, and for a couple of minutes all other noise was drowned in that. When the noise had subsided, the Jarl handed us a batch of letters. Apparently, he had sent notes to a lot of people, and we found congratulation letters from my mage friends in Winterhold, Brynjolf in Riften, Jarl Elisif of Solitude, and many others. Once we had browsed the letters, the Jarl called everybody to lunch and invited us to help ourselves from the plentiful offerings being served in Dragonsreach. Thus, while the snow whirled around the keep, dozens of happily celebrating men and women found something to eat and to drink, and the few children around mostly behaved and played some games.

While the party was in full swing and everybody was busy with eating and drinking, the Jarl waved us to the side and said: "Well, I can imagine that the two of you would rather be alone soon than being in that party for hours – a special carriage is waiting outside at the stables to get you wherever you decided to spend your honeymoon, and I have already asked Inigo and Lydia to wait for you there. I bid you Good Bye for now – enjoy your time together!"

T'mara looked at me: "Honeymoon! We have not even talked about it!"

I suggested: "I have made some plans, but let's walk down to the stables, and I'll explain."

With that we took our leave from the Jarl, started walking and I continued: "I assume that you might want to spend our honeymoon in a quiet, but nice environment. The best I could come up with is your – well, I guess our – house in Riften, Honeyside. Hoping that you'd agree, I have already sent Iona and Jordis ahead on horseback to get the house prepared and stocked – will that be all right for you?"

T'mara smiled and nodded: "Perfect – let's go!"

At the stables we found that Sigaar, based at Riften, was already waiting for us together with Inigo and Lydia – the Jarl had paid him extra to wait for us, and Lydia and Inigo were supposed to make sure that we weren't bothered too much by bandits and such while traveling. Somebody obviously assumed that we, as newlyweds, might be a little bit distracted and would not pay much attention to our environment while traveling in the carriage. Well, I have to admit that this was at least partially true; my pretty Khajiit claimed much more of my attention than the environment and landscape did. I almost felt like being in a wonderful dream when thinking that T'mara was now my wife, and I was absolutely happy. When we arrived in Riften a couple of days later, Inigo and Lydia took their leave from us and we moved into Honeyside, locking the door behind us. Jordis and Iona had obviously been busy, as we found nice new curtains, warm looking bed sheets and comforters, and a fully stocked larder. In the larder, there was a note from the two housecarls wishing us a good time.

When we had made ourselves comfortable and started a fire in the fireplace, T'mara started to unpack a few of her belongings. After a while she looked at me with a wide grin and said: "Guess what – it looks like I forgot to pack my nightgown!"

I smiled back and replied: "Bad luck for you – I guess that you may have to sleep without it. If you ask nicely, I may even attempt to keep you warm!"

She continued the bantering: "Oh, that will not be necessary. See, we have this nice fire blazing here, and I may just decide to sleep close to the fireplace – you can claim the bed for yourself."

I pretended to be offended: "And who is going to scratch my back tonight? Isn't that an obedient wife´s duty to perform for her husband?"

T'mara grinned: "Yes, as a matter of fact, scratching is a good idea. I might be tempted to use my claws and really show how proper Khajiit scratching and affection looks like."

I looked doubtful: "Not sure about that one, but if you promise to heal me afterwards… - or maybe I should play safe and tie you to the bed before getting affectionate?"

My wife looked serious now: "Try that and be prepared to be shouted to the other end of the room!"

I could not contain myself any longer and started laughing, and soon T'mara joined in. Not longer after that we decided to see how comfortable our bed was, and neither did T'mara miss her nightgown nor did I lack attention and back scratching. As both of us were totally inexperienced in issues of sexual intercourse, finding out interesting and exciting details about each other's body took some time, but we were not in a hurry at all. Specifically I was surprised and delighted to find out that a Khajiit´s tail was quite flexible and could be used for very interesting tasks. As our housecarls had expected, we did not even once step out of the house for at least a week, and we were extremely content and happy to be able to focus our attention just on ourselves. A dragon could have breathed fire or frost on Riften and we might not even have noticed.

[Author's Note: Do not expect to get more juicy details on the honeymoon – this story is not 'M' rated for a reason. Also, the wedding of my two main characters does not imply that the story is almost complete – not at all]


	30. Chapter 30 - Mara's blessings - part 1

**Chapter 30: Mara's blessings - part 1**

_[3__rd__ – 23__rd__ of Morning Star 4E 202]_

We probably spent about two weeks in the house, but finally food was almost running out, and while we immensely enjoyed our time, reality was calling. Our next big plan was to finally go to Winterhold, but first we wanted to pay a visit to the Temple of Mara here in Riften together.

On a sunny morning we entered the temple and talked to Dinya Balu, the Dumber priestess, who had time for us. I said: "As we have found together guided by Mara´s amulet and recently got married, we'd like to give thanks and ask for Mara´s blessings for our future."

She responded: "My children, you are very welcome. Mara is willing to give her blessing, but she would prefer to give it only to those who spread her love throughout Skyrim. Thus, she would like to get your aid is a few small tasks to advance that goal – are you willing to do that for her?"

I looked at T'mara, as I was not sure if this was supposed to be on our agenda. My pretty Khajiit wife stated, though: "Priestess of Mara, we will gladly help spreading Mara´s love throughout Skyrim – is there a specific place we should start at?"

Dinya Balu smiled and responded: "Yes, indeed there is. Mara sent me a vision that there is a girl in Ivarstead, who is torn between two men and different goals. Mara wants her to find the right way, so please travel there, speak with Fastred and her parents and the potential overs involved and help them to make the right decision. Mara guide you!"

We looked at each other, and we both recalled that we had talked with Fastred, the farmers' daughter before. "Okay, Ivarstead – we can do this" I claimed and we left the temple. Outside we looked for Inigo and Lydia and soon found them in the Bee and Barb. We told them: "For the next few days or maybe weeks we are going to assist Mara with a few small tasks to spread her love. Once this is done, we will finally make our way to the college of Winterhold. Why don´t you go there already and we follow as soon as we can?"

However, Inigo got close to T'mara and myself and started to talk to us: "My friends, I first need to ask something." He was obviously somewhat nervous and took his time to continue. "Since you two got married, I wonder … ehm, you may have noticed that Lydia and I kind of got close."

I smiled at him and told him: "Yes, I have noticed indeed, and if I recall properly, Lydia and you had something going even before she was assigned as housecarl to T'mara."

Inigo cleared his throat and replied: "Yes, I guess. But anyway, Lydia and I would also like to get married. As I am assigned to you and Lydia is sworn to your wife, we feel that we need to ask for permission, so that the housecarl tasks are properly taken care of..."

T'mara cut in now: "That is wonderful! Of course this is all right from our side, and we are so happy for you! - Lydia, come here, please!"

When Lydia also came close, T'mara repeated her statement and hugged her housecarl. Naturally, for the next couple of hours, we were discussing details, and Lydia and Inigo decided to have their wedding in Riften quite soon, when we were back from doing Mara's bidding, and travel to Winterhold after that. Neither of them had close relatives anywhere, so that my wife and myself would be the main guests.

Inigo decided to mention a few thoughts of his: "Lydia and I were concerned for some time about a mixed race marriage. Some people might take offense when seeing a Khajiit and a Nord together, and we were hesitant about making our love official. However, seeing T'mara and you in love and getting wed convinced us that we should finally do this step as well."

I nodded and replied: "I have to admit that I was concerned about that part, too. For some time I questioned my motives and my feelings, but I believe that Akatosh would not have guided me to T'mara if he had not wanted us to get that close. There may be a few who consider this bond wrong, but for me it's good enough to know that all the people I care about agree with my wife and me and accept our bond."

In a pretty good mood, T'mara and I left the city of Riften through the southwest gate to take the road straight of Ivarstead; by walking quickly, we should be able to get there in the evening, and we were looking forward to seeing Wilhelm, the innkeeper, again. Passing the Snow-Shod farm, we waved to the farmers and they waved to us. Later on, shortly after a small bridge, we noticed a giant attacking the Orc stronghold of Largashbur, and we helped the orcs defending their home by bringing the giant down with arrows and bolts. They invited us in for a talk, but we denied and told them we might come back at a later time. Half an hour later, a small group of bandits stormed out of the bushes and demanded that we hand over our valuables. Naturally, we declined and hit the bandits with fireballs; looting their nearby camp, we found a few nice weapons and gems to take with us. From now on, I had Pammy scout ahead, to make things a little easier. Just before the final road branch to Ivarstead, a dragon also decided to show up, but it was a weak frost dragon and defeated quickly with fireballs, bolts, and shouts. T'mara smirked and said: "The dragon soul I just absorbed is getting me into the right mood for the cuddling coming night – perfect timing!"

Darkness was already around us and a light rain started to fall when we entered Vilemyr Inn, and indeed Wilhelm smiled when he noticed us. As soon as he could he placed tow cups of hot milk on the counter and welcomed us warmly. Naturally, T'mara proudly told him that we were now married, and he offered his sincere congratulations: "Being married, that's good to hear from my favorite customers. But you are not here on your honeymoon, are you?"

I explained that we had had our honeymoon in Riften before, and that we were now spreading Mara's love, specifically related to Fastred. Wilhelm offered some information: "Fastred, this poor girl. She cannot make up her mind to either get together with Klimmek and stay here in Ivarstead or with Bassianus and move to Riften. I guess getting a hint from Mara really would not hurt her." While getting some more updates on what was happening in town, Wilhelm served dinner, and soon after that we retired to our room. As she had announced, T'mara was very much in the mood for cuddling, so that we slept in on the following morning. However, that did not matter because we were not in a hurry.

After breakfast we went over to the Fellstar Farm and soon found Fastred. First she was unwilling to talk much, but when mentioned that we were sent by Mara, she opened up: "Bassianus wants me to move to Riften with him. I'd love to go, as much more is going on there than here, but on the other hand I am afraid to go, and my parents need me here." It was obvious that she was quite unsure about her future. T'mara and I talked to her parents, and we found the father willing to let her go, but the mother totally opposed.

Finally we looked for Bassianus, and he told us: "I will move to Riften soon anyway. I'd like Fastred to join me, but my mind is made up – I will go with or without her."

Klimmek, on the other hand, was less certain about what to do: "Fastred is a real nice girl, and I love her. But, as she currently is with Bassianus, there is nothing I can do. Probably she will go with him to Riften, and I won't stand in her way if this is what she really wants to do."

T'mara and I looked at each other and reached a decision. T'mara stated: "Look, Klimmek, most women prefer a man to have a clear standpoint and stick to it. A man should be willing to defend his opinion, too. Have you ever thought about telling her about your feelings and that you'd love her to stay with you? What do you have to lose by telling her?"

Klimmek pondered this for a while and finally conceded: "You got a point here – what do I have to lose indeed? I guess that I need to talk to Fastred and let her know about my feelings for her and what I think is right!" and with those words he ran off to find her.

T'mara shook her head and said: "I cannot believe how hesitant and unsure some men can be in love affairs. I am glad that this is different with you!"

I shook my head and replied: "My dear, this is not exactly true. I only dared to buy an amulet of Mara after I had some talks with Inigo and Jordis about my feelings towards you. I am not much better than Klimmek is."

She looked at me: "Yes, you mentioned that, good point. Well, I am glad that Mara has her messengers where and when needed, and this confirms the importance of what we are currently doing, I guess."

It was too late for today to return to Riften, so that we spent some time around town and one more night at the inn.

On the next day we leisurely walked back to Riften, and upon our arrival in the later afternoon visited the temple of Mara again. Dinya Balu was happy to hear about our work in Ivarstead and right away told us about the next task: "In Markarth, there is an eccentric court magician named Calcelmo. He likes Faleen, the housecarl of Jarl Igmund, but does not speak to her, because he does not know how. Faleen may actually want to talk to him, too, so please help him along, as Mara´s wishes!"

T'mara and I left the temple, and I informed her: "You know, I have wanted to talk to Calcelmo for some time. He sent a letter to me some time ago when I started to investigate advanced Dwemer crossbow designs together with Sorine, and I should take one of those crossbows with me for him. I do not think that we have been in Markarth yet, right?"

My wife shook her head, and I continued: "I was there only once or twice quite briefly, and I did not meet the Jarl or anybody else at the keep. Well, I guess that this is our next task. However, Markarth is almost at the other side of Skyrim from here, and we probably need three or four days or so to get there."

"So what?" T'mara replied. "We are not in a hurry, and traveling together is fun, at least most of the time."

This evening we got all of our housecarls together in the Bee and Barb for dinner and made plans. We decided that all of us would travel together to Markarth together, so that there was going four of us – besides T'mara and myself, Iona, and Jordis – Lydia and Inigo had staid in Riften to prepare their wedding. We were not fully sure yet about the best way to travel; but as we had been to Whiterun plenty of times, we opted to go for the southern route close to Falkreath this time. As before, first stop for the night was going to be Ivarstead. A Dawnguard patrol was kind enough to give me a spare Dwemer crossbow so that I'd have something to show Calcelmo. You never knew – maybe he had ideas how to further improve them.

Quite early in the next morning we had a quick breakfast and started walking out of the southwestern Riften gate. Dew was all around us, the sun was slowly coming up, and despite the calendar stating winter, the Rift still showed yellow and red autumn colors in the trees, which we were prepared to enjoy until after Ivarstead. I guess that our large group cared off most animals and bandits, as we had no serious encounters on that day. We enjoyed a wonderful picnic on the shore of Lake Honrich and reached Ivarstead soon enough. Wilhelm was delighted to see us again and happily reported that Fastred was now together with Klimmek, and both of them looked happy: "Hard to believe, but Klimmek now looks ten years younger; she is good for him, and I do believe that he is good for her, too."

One day later, an hour or so after leaving the town, we had winter back as we climbed up to the pass towards Helgen. Snowflakes twirled around us, and we had to be careful not to slip on the road which had occasional ice patches under the snow. Pammy was happily jumping around, and T'mara commented once again: "I can't wait to get to Winterhold and learn how to conjure a familiar. I so wonder what it is going to be!"

Right after the pass summit we encountered a pack of ice wolves, and despite our number they attacked us right away. Thanks to Pammy, though, we got an early warning, and while aiming with bow and crossbow was difficult in the snowstorm, we all had our weapons out and disposed of the pack within a very short time. I couldn't avoid smiling when I heard Iona shouting something like: "I'll mount your head on my wall" or "Your pelt will look so good over my fireplace"; I guess that she had adopted some of those phrases from Lydia. We took the pelts with us to sell them in the next store, and I could not resist to offer one specifically to Iona, supposedly for her fireplace – she did not really consider this funny.

Half an hour later, shortly after we had passed the entry to the Falkreath Stormcloak Camp, we noticed another narrow path branching off to the right. T'mara was curious and looked at the map, and once she had identified it she called out: "Hey, this path leads to 'Orphan Rock' - isn't that the place where we can find 'Nettlebane', which we'll need to get sap from the big Eldergleam tree?"

Jordis quickly replied: "Yes, I think you are right. Shall we go there and get the tool?"

T'mara looked at me, and when I nodded, she said: "Yes, let's do it!"

Thus we turned right in the snow and followed the path. While we were talking to each other, Pammy was scouting ahead as usual, and suddenly we heard her whine. Looking ahead we noticed someone shooting ice spikes at her from an elevated position, so that Pammy could not attack the enemy. I called her back, and first we retreated a little back the path, out of range from the bad guys. Looking around, I suggested: "Maybe we can get to high ground opposite of the small hill where the shooter is located – T'mara and I can do that by sneaking, I guess. Once we attack, maybe the four of you can try to pass below the hill and get to the other side and find an access – all right?"

The others all nodded, and so T'mara and I sneaked to the east, trying to find a proper position for using our bow and crossbow. It took a little effort and climbing to get there, but we managed, and while hiding behind a big rock, we could look around it and downwards, across the path, to the rock where the enemies where probably placed. Right now, one person was visible over there, and the person look like a witch, holding an ice spike spell ready in her hands and looking around for a target. I got my crossbow out and quickly took her down; this alerted another witch, and she was hit by one of T'mara´s arrows. Soon I located another enemy further down on the path where our companions would approach from, and I also took the person down with a bolt. We looked at each other to find out if we had missed somebody, but right now no further enemy was visible. Iona and Jordis, and I noticed that Iona jumped aside quickly when she had almost stepped on a rune. Right when they were next to the rock, another enemy came out of the tent on top and prepared to attack my friends. As I still had my crossbow ready, I shot right away; this did not kill the enemy, but at least staggered the person. A tree trunk seemed to provide access to the rock, and I quickly signaled Pammy to run across and attack, which she promptly did. After being weakened by my bolt, the hagraven (as it turned out) could not properly defend herself against my familiar and was promptly taken care of.

With our other companions also with us now, we examined the elevated area carefully, and beside some general loot, we indeed found 'Nettlebane' on the hagraven's body. As we wanted to get further ahead today, we decided not to spend additional time here – we had found what new had looked for and found our way back to the main road, turning west towards Helgen. We had passed this town several times before and seen indications of bandit activity; most likely a bandit group had decided to make the town their new base of operations. While we had previously ignored that and bypassed the town, I suggested to find out more, so that we could eventually report the status to the Jarl of Falkreath. Thus, we carefully moved closer and found the gates closed and locked. However, we saw some movement on the walkway above the gate we were close to. We decided on an approach similar to the one we had followed at Orphan Rock – this time I would find high ground alone to shoot at the visible enemies, and all of the others, including Pammy, would pick the lock and force their way inside through the gate.

Some ten minutes later I had climbed up to a good position, which should allow me to not only fire my bolts at bandits on the walkways, but also in the courtyard inside the walls. I got my crossbow out and started firing, first getting one of the bandits right above the gate. Jordis used the distraction to pick the lock, and while I continued firing, my companions sneaked into the town. Naturally, some of the bandits inside noticed that, but three capable warriors plus a fierce Pahmer overcame the obstacles quickly, so that the place was soon under our control. Of course, there was also the keep, but we skipped investigating and clearing it, as this would have taken hours at the least.

We decided to just get some of the loot from the bandits and continue our way towards Falkreath. Soon after leaving the town and following the road descending to lower elevations, the snow cover was gone and more plants and flowers lined the road, although we were still in winter season. The sun was shining down and even some butterflies were out. The next hour of walking was thus quite enjoyable, and we had a great time. T'mara and I picked flowers and mushrooms left and right and filled our satchels, whereas the housecarls made sure that the path was safe. Later on, though, after we had passed a hut on the right, a structure was visible in the distance, and it looked like a walkway crossing the road several meters above ground. I wondered what it was when Jordis explained: "I have seen this before at other places. Bandits use that for an ambush, and I bet that two or three of them are waiting up there with bows and maybe even with rock slides."

T'mara asked her: "Do you think that we can sneak ourselves ahead without them noticing?"

Jordis doubted this: "The sun is up, and we'd have to be right on the road – difficult to miss unless the bad guys are asleep. I guess the options are to circumvent the area or to eliminate the bandits."

I cut in now: "There must be a way to get up to the walkway. Can anyone see an access or a ladder or something?"

For some time nobody answered, but finally Iona told us: "I think that there is a path leading up to the walkway on the right, behind those rocks over there. Sneaky people might be able to get there without being noticed."

I smirked and asked: "Okay, who wants to find out how good they are in sneaking they are this time? Come on, T'mara and I have done this may times before, somebody else today, maybe?"

Iona and Jordis were quick to state that sneaking in heavy armor was next to impossible, but Jordis offered to see what she could achieve. Thus we agreed that T'mara and I were to search for high ground to attack with bow and crossbow again, Jordis was to sneak towards the access to the best of her ability, and Iona was to follow him and push ahead once being detected. As soon as we were in position, we waved to Jordis, and she moved ahead. To our surprise she managed to get quite close before one of the bandits raised his head and noticed that somebody was coming. However, he did not get a chance to warn the others before T'mara´s arrow hit him right in the throat. The next one was killed by my bolt, and then the others stormed ahead, exterminating all further opposition quickly.

We did not waste further time on site and walked ahead, and soon we arrived the next road crossing with some road signs indication directions. Seeing that I addressed my companions: "It looks like we have a choice now. We can either walk done to Falkreath, spend a night at the inn and report the status of Helgen to the Jarl, risking that the Jarl finds out about T'mara being the Dragonborn and pester us with his requests, or we can bypass the town and camp somewhere in the wild. What do you guys think?"

T'mara opted for going around: "I am not in the mood right now to deal with another Jarl, let's go around and avoid the city."

Jordis however said: "But we have a lot of loot we want to sell, and we really should tell them about the bandits in Helgen."

Iona did not care one way or another, and I suggested after some more discussion: "What about that – we go to Falkreath, find rooms at the inn, and tomorrow morning I talk to the Jarl, whereas the others try to sell some of our loot. That way we can inform the Jarl, but T'mara does not have to meet him, and we can leave again in the morning."

My companions all liked that plan, and so we happily walked down the road towards Falkreath. Dusk was close, and thus we first looked around for an inn; it was not hard to find it, as Falkreath was quite small for a hold capital. The 'Dead Man´s Drink' was located at the other end of town, and we quickly entered. The inn was operated by an Imperial woman named Valga Vinicia, and she greeted us: "Welcome to Dead Man's Drink." It turned out that two guest rooms were actually available, and we took them all for one night. We ordered dinner, and it was quickly served by Narri. While we enjoyed our meal, an older man with noble clothes, sitting at the next table seemed to have some issues, and we could not avoid hearing this:

"Narri! This mead tastes like water and the meat has gone off."

"The mead is same as it ever was and the meat is fresh, maybe your sense of taste has 'gone off.'"

"The impertinence! You never would have talked to me like that when I was Jarl."

"We had this same argument every week, even when you were Jarl."

When Narri was back at our table later on to collect the empty plates, she told us that the man was Derngeir, the former Jarl of Falkreath. "He once ruled Falkreath, but when he joined sides with the Stormcloaks, his nephew Siddgeir took over as Jarl. Derngeir believes that a plot removed him from power, and he suspects Imperial spies everywhere."

We just looked shook our heads slightly and continued to eat. As we had walked all day long, we retired to our rooms soon after.


	31. Chapter 31 - Mara's blessings - part 2

**Chapter 31: Mara's blessings - part 2**

_[24th - 25th of Morning Star 4E 202]_

Raindrops falling down on the wooden roof of the inn in Falkreath woke us before dawn the next morning, but the sound of rain was quite soothing, so that we spent some more time in bed with cuddling, hugging and kissing. Eventually though, T'mara and I found out that we yearned for breakfast and got up; fortunately the innkeeper had something to eat ready, and we quickly ordered what we wanted. Iona soon joined us, and I suggested: "Iona, maybe you could take our collected loot and see if the local stores can take some of it; as far as I know, they have an alchemist, a general store, and a blacksmith here. You should also get a little more food for us so that it lasts until we get to Markarth. If memory serves me right, there is no other town on our way and we may have to camp outside for a night or two."

My lovely wife looked at me and asked: "Do you have an idea what I could do?"

I replied: "If you want, you could talk to a few people. If you prefer to avoid attention, why don't you go for a walk to the Falkreath Graveyard. Runil, the priest of Arkay there loves to chat with strangers, but he's unlikely to ask annoying questions. I will find out when I can talk to the Jarl."

With that I left and went to the town's longhouse. As expected, the Jarl was not yet on his seat at this early hour in the morning, so that I took my time to chat with both his housecarl and his steward. I hoped to learn more abut the recent history from Nenya, the Altmer steward: "How long have you been a steward?"

He was obviously was in a mood to talk and replied: "It was Dengeir who made me a steward, long ago when he was young. When Dengeir´s health began to fail, young Siddgeir was appointed Jarl in his stead. It was simpler just to keep me as steward. Siddgeir has no interest in running his hold, and so leaves such matters to me. As for my part, I do my best to see that folk are treated fairly."

I further asked, as I had not really learned about that before: "Why is your cemetery so large?"

The answer was: "Many battles have been fought here over the centuries. Graves were dug and monuments built, and the town grew around these. In time, Falkreath came to be known as the heroes' graveyard. Many noble Jarls and renowned warriors asked to be buried here. Falkreath´s reputation has faded somewhat, but the graves remain, reminding us of the one inevitable truth of life."

After some more chatting, the Jarl arrived and was ready for visitors. I approached, introduced myself, and told him about the bandits in Helgen as well as those at the overpass closer to Falkreath. When I told him that we had killed some bandits at Helgen and all of them at the overpass, he approved and told me: "Good to hear about that. Finally someone useful is around."

I noticed that he was waiting for a signal from me to hand out more tasks, but I took my leave and left the longhouse as quickly as I decently could, to talk back to the inn. There I found Iona just coming back, too, with a smaller backpack, but a larger coin purse, and Jordis was just having a late breakfast. When we are all ready, we stepped outside to find out that the rain had diminished to a light and tolerable drizzle, and T'mara was also coming back from the visit to the local graveyard. We did not waste any time and started to walk onward, pursuing our way to Markarth.

Passing 'Roadside Ruins' and the 'Falkreath Watchtower' to our left, I told my companions what I had learned in the longhouse and that I had managed to avoid being loaded with more work by the Jarl. T'mara told us that Runil, the priest, was looking for someone to retrieve a journal from a cave, and maybe we could help him at a later time. T'mara looked at us and asked: "Why is it that so many people just seem to wait for us passing by with lots of work and tasks and quests? Are there so few mercenaries and brave warriors around so that they all need us? This is almost surreal, and I try to avoid getting a bad conscience as we have to deny so many tasks."

Hearing that I nodded and commented: "I have thought the same before. There are a few mercenaries, but they charge a lot of gold for their service, and most citizens cannot afford that. There are also the Companions in Whiterun, but they also want to get paid. A lot of people need to get smaller things done, but can only afford to pay very little gold or, as with the Jarl of Falkreath, try to find stupid travelers doing annoying quests mostly for honor. And yes, I understand that it can feel bad that we cannot help everybody, but as Dragonborn you, T'mara, will need to stay focused, at least to a certain extent. We shall have to wisely select the tasks we do – may the Nine guide us!"

My companions smiled when they heard me saying "The Nine" rather than "The Eight"; we all knew that stating this in public would get us into trouble with the Thalmor. While we reached the main road, close to Lake Ilinalta, I continued: "The situation is a little better in Cyrodiil, where both the Fighter's Guild and the Mage's Guild have a branch in basically all cities. Citizens can come to the guild offices and ask for help. Sure, they also charge and they cannot do everything, but at least they try to charge less from poor people. Here in Skyrim, cities do not have guild offices. Outside of the College of Winterhold, you find wizards and mages only as court wizards and mercenaries, and expect for the Companions, there is no counterpart to the Cyrodiil Fighter's Guild."

Passing 'Half-Moon Mill', I further explained: "Not all of you may know that the Hero of Kvatch and Champion of Cyrodiil, who helped Martin Septim to close the gates to Oblivion at the end of the third era, was one of my ancestors. My family owns a few journals from him, and one of them tells about his rise in the Fighter's Guild. It was not mostly celebrating and drinking and having a good time, but he had to work hard for little money to get ahead and find approval by his peers. I think I read a section saying that they even had a competing organization for some time in one city."

T'mara looked up at me and started to muse: "You know, it would be good to establish a guild here in Skyrim, something like the 'Helper's Guild' or similar. We would help people, fight bandits and beasts, and do good deeds. This could be really nice!"

I nodded and agreed "Yes, it would. Maybe we can get back to that after the Dragonborn business is done."

Jordis cut in: "But the brave and altruistic guild members will have to eat something and maintain a place to sleep. Surely there must be some payment?"

Iona suggested: "Maybe they could take just a little money, and the respective Jarls might also be willing to provide some funding as compensation for the fights against bandits and such; kind of tax money at work."

Jordis, who had learned about the behavior the Jarl of Falkreath had displayed, objected: "Can you imagine Jarl Siddgeir actually paying money to a guild? I can't."

I nodded and commented: "No, probably not, but some other Jarls might."

For some time we walked silently and enjoyed the environment. The drizzle which had started early in the day had stopped, and the cloud cover was getting less dense, with occasional sun rays piercing through. While there was a lot of snow around us, the road was clear, and the ubiquitous mountain flower bordered the road on both side again. Another hour brought us the main road between Whiterun and Markarth and an old and very small settlement called Granite Hill. The sun was fully out now and we found a nice meadow for our lunch picnic close to the hamlet. T'mara asked how far we planned to walk today, and Jordis was the first to reply:

"Between here and Markarth there are no real towns or cities. However, there is an isolated inn few people know, and it is called 'Old Hroldan'. Some people believe it to be haunted, but if we hurry and walk until dusk, we could sleep there tonight – what do you think?"

After a quick discussion we agreed to head for that 'Old Hroldan Inn' and soon started walking again. Passing Fort Sungard, supposedly inhabited by Forsworn, the road was gradually descending down to the next river, and several mines were pointed out on both sides. Jordis had just mentioned casually that we had not encountered a dragon recently, when we heard a suspicious roar close by, and of course we all looked at Jordis accusingly, except T'mara, who said: "Don't blame Jordis – I would not mind getting another dragon soul – what are we waiting for?"

The dragon, which looked quite small, approached from the other side of the river and blew a frost path ahead of it. As we could see and hear the beast approach in time, we were able to properly coordinate our attack, and three flame balls of different intensity hit the beast almost at the same time. This was enough to bring it down, and it managed to crash on a tiny island in the river, just to be hit by bolts and arrows now. It had just enough time to raise its head and road once before it was hit by a "_YOL_" shout and perished. Jordis and Iona did not even had a chance to get involved in the fight.

Our destination was not far now and we managed to get there just when the sun disappeared behind the mountains. We were greeted by Eydis, the innkeeper: "Ah, visitors. Welcome to Old Hroldan Inn." We also greeted her and her son and asked for two rooms and dinner. When she noticed T'mara and me being quite close and found out that we were newlyweds, she smirked and asked: "I suppose you'll be wanting Tiber Septim´s room and bed, then?"

I was not sure that I had heard correctly and asked: "Tiber Septim´s room?"

The innkeeper smiled and confirmed: "That's right. In the Second Era, Tiber Septim himself led the army that conquered Old Hroldan from the barbarians of the Reach. Septim would later found the Empire that united Tamriel, but his first known battle and victory was right here. And this inn has the very bed the great general slept in on his first night as Old Hroldan's liberator. As good as it was hundreds of years ago. It's the big room with the double bed."

Her son Skuli added, looking proud: "Changed the linens myself. They're fresh."

Of course T'mara and I took the room, but first we sat down for a nice dinner. There was a choice of salmon and rabbit stew, and we all opted for the salmon. It was fresh from the river, and we enjoyed eating it. We seemed to be the only guests for the night, and no locals came in for a drink or two. Considering that this inn was, contrary to most other inns, not in a city or town but in a rather isolated location, this did not come as a surprise. We enjoyed the opportunity and relaxed around the fire with our drinks for some time before retiring to our rooms.

-

When my wife and I arrived in our room, she looked at me and smirked: "I have absorbed a dragon soul today – I guess you know what that implies?" I pretended to look sad and said: "Not a lot of sleep for me, I am afraid." She looked up at me and, while slowly undressing, replied: "You are correct! But I think that I may have to provide some more motivation, with the way you look like right now." As she was now getting out of her underwear, I utterly failed to look sad any longer and started to smile: "Well, it looks like you are already about to provide that motivation!"

I guess that we were just done with our third round of cuddling and making love, probably just past midnight, when I heard a loud scream from the inn's main room. T'mara and I looked at each other, quickly got dressed in tunics, and looked out of our room. The taproom was barely illuminated by the embers from the fire, and Eydis, the innkeeper, was staring at something which looked like a ghost at the other side of the room, sitting in a chair and drinking something. Eydis looked scared, but seemed happy to see us and excitedly told us: "Mara have mercy that gave me a fright. There's a... ghost. Just wandering around my inn like it owned the place." After a short break she continued: "I've heard stories that Old Hroldan was haunted, but no one´s seen a ghost here since the Great War. He's from the battle, I just know it. He's one of Tiber Septim's soldiers... back from the dead."

We approached the ghost, which did not look that scary to me, but before I could say anything the ghost, who looked like an old warrior, confronted me: "Hjalti? Is that you? I've been waiting." I sure wasn't Hjalti and told him so, but he didn't get it: "You promised me, Hjalti. You promised that when we sacked Hroldan, you would make me your sworn brother. And I've waited. Even after the enemies' arrows dug into my chest and their hammers crushed my bones. I've waited. Give me your sword, Hjalti. That we may become brothers as you promised." I responded: "I do not know where this sword is, but maybe we can help getting it back for you?" He concluded: "I long to taste battle again" and told us that the sword should be hidden in a placed called 'Red Eagle Redoubt'. With those words the ghost was gone again.

By now, of course, Iona and Jordis had also arrived in the taproom. Eydis had calmed down, and we promised her to see if we could find this sword, to hopefully redeem the poor ghost. As it was the middle of the night, we agreed to get back to our beds and discuss further plans at breakfast; with my wife´s needs for cuddling now satiated, even the two us were able to get some sleep.

We arrived for breakfast later than usual, but that was not a surprise after that night. Also, Markarth was less than a day's walk from here, so that we could afford to dawdle. While we were eating, Jordis looked at me and said: "My Thane, was there also a fight involved last night? You seem to have quite a bruise on your lower neck! That's not a vampire bite, or is it?" I was not aware of that and tried to look down, but this was not really in my area of view. T'mara also looked at me and suddenly turned away, quickly leaving the room. I was quite confused now; neither could I remember a fight nor did I understand my wife´s behavior. Iona finally had a look, too, and she started to chuckle, telling me: "Sorry about that, my thane. Judged by your wife's behavior and also as I have seem similar bruises before, I am quite sure that your lovely wife inflicted that upon you during what I assume to be an extended make out session last night." Suddenly I understood that it must be a hickey, and when I finally found something remotely resembling a mirror, I noticed that it was indeed big enough to be confused with a bruise from a fight or even a bite from a vampire. When the others found out that I had understood, they couldn't suppress some giggling, and I also started to laugh.

Right after the morning meal Jordis spread our map on the table and pointed out: "Look, that place 'Red Eagle Redoubt' should be accessible either from the south via 'Karthspire Camp' or from the west via the 'Kolskeggr Mine'. I'd suggest that we make that side trip on the way back from Markarth."

We all agreed to that plan and soon marched along merrily in the early sunshine towards Markarth. Just south of the inn we passed a few travelers praying at the Shrine of Dibella and then walked along the river. Just when we felt relaxed, we heard a whiz and an arrow hit T'mara, fortunately just nicking her skin and mostly scraping her armor. Immediately we all looked for cover and dove away; I had noticed that the arrow had come from a greater distance across the river and thus looked for a higher elevation on this side – I rushed around a corner and climbed up a small hill. From the top, after calming my breath, I soon saw a figure in dark clothes, barely visible thanks to probably a partial invisibility spell, sending more arrows to our side. I carefully aimed my crossbow and fired, hitting the person directly in the chest. Iona quickly crossed the river when they received a hand sign from me and dragged the corpse over to us, while I climbed down again.

To my horror, my wife was on the ground and not looking well. Jordis, who had stayed with T'mara, explained: "The arrow was most likely poisoned, so that even the small scratch got her down. However, I just fed her a 'cure poison' potion, and she should be up again soon."

While T'mara recovered, assisted by some healing spell cast by me, we searched the assassin's corpse and found out that the Dark Brotherhood had tried to assassinate T'mara again. Fortunately, my housecarl Jordis had had the potion ready quick enough, and half an hour later T'mara was ready to move on. A few hours later we were quite close to the city of Markarth, and for a few minutes we admired the sight of the stone city, which looked like it was carved out of the mountain. While we looked at the city and slowly proceeded towards the stables, I told T'mara that I had a home here – Vlindrel Hall – and a housecarl, Argis the Bulwark, as I had achieved the status of 'Thane of the Reach' a few years ago. I had not spent a lot of time here in Markarth at all, but it was a nice base of operations if one wanted to explore the Nordic and Dwemer ruins in the hold. I had given Argis permission to do some mercenary work and work on bounties while I was away, as it would not make sense for him to wait in the house all of the time while I was mostly busy somewhere else.

After entering the city, we proceeded to my home right away, and I invited everybody in. The house was large enough that we could all sleep here, and earlier on I had the stone beds enhanced by some softer layers on top. Argis was not here right now, which was all right for me. The larder was nicely filled, and Jordis volunteered to prepare dinner. After walking for several days, visiting the local inn and meeting Calcelmo could wait until tomorrow, and right after dinner we went to our respective rooms. I asked my wife if she was feeling fine again after the poisoning, and she confirmed, so that we could rest peacefully.


	32. Chapter 32 - Mara's blessings - part 3

**Chapter 32: Mara's blessings - part 3**

_[26__th__ of Morning Star – 5__th__ of Sun's Dawn 4E 202]_

Being a morning person and waking early was probably in my genes; when I woke up in the next morning in our Markarth home 'Vlindrel Hall', everybody else seemed to be still asleep, including my pretty wife. Thus, I went into the kitchen and decided to prepare breakfast. I took my time, and when I was about ready, my companions joined me around the big table.

I told them: "Look, I do not think that there is a need for all of us to meet Calcelmo – I would rather do this just with T'mara, as this is our task. Would you others want to explore the city and look around a bit? Let's meet again here for dinner."

Of course Iona and Jordis agreed and said that they'd do some 'girl shopping', and soon I climbed up to the Understone Keep together with T'mara. From my earlier visits to the city I knew where to find the court wizard, so that I guided us into the keep and then turned left into an area, which looked little better than an excavation site. After walking around the last corner, though, we found Calcelmo, as usual, working on his alchemy and enchanting tables, pretty much oblivious to what happened around him. I carefully approached him and finally got his attention.

He looked annoyed and said: "What are you doing here? The excavation site is closed. I don't need any more workers or guards."

I responded: "We are not here for the excavation site – we are looking for you, actually. You are researching the Dwemer, right?"

He looked up now and confirmed: "Yes. Their history and culture is all around us in Markarth. A race of stonecutters, artisans, and engineers. They invented machines and built elaborate underground cities where they researched powers to rival the gods themselves. And then, at a time we are still not sure when, they disappeared. The whole people, all at once. Leaving behind only their works."

I was aware of the sudden disappearance of the Dwemer and had many times wondered what may have happened at that time, and I hoped that eventually somebody would find out. I replied: "Yes, that is quite a mystery. Actually, you sent a letter to me that you are interested in Dwemer artifacts."

He looked interested now: "Oh yes, I did, didn't I? Do you happen to have an artifact for me?"

I nodded and showed him the Dwemer crossbow I had brought with me: "Yes, I do. Based on some schematics we found hidden somewhere, one of my Dawnguard colleagues was able to reconstruct a special Dwemer crossbow, and I have already tested it in combat successfully."

Calcelmo looked at it and murmured: "Amazing – this is absolutely fascinating. Can I persuade you to sell this device to me?"

I smiled and told him: "No, you cannot, but as your reputation as a scholar for Dwemer culture is well known, it is an honor for me to hand this over as a gift!"

Now the court wizard actually smiled and looked quite happy: "Finally somebody who appreciates my work. What a day! Thank you, indeed!"

T'mara now added: "Calcelmo, there is something else – we have also been sent by Mara specifically to you, as she knows that you need some assistance in a very personal affair – would you allow us to guide you?"

The wizard looked somewhat embarrassed and said: "Yes, this is indeed personal, but as you have been sent by Mara, I guess I can admit that I am fascinated of Faleen, the housecarl to Jarl Igmund. She is such a wonderful person – I would love to talk to her about my feelings, but every time I get close to her I have no idea what to say. Maybe you could help me to find out what she likes; Yngvar the Singer actually might know about that."

T'mara promised: "We will see what we can do and get back to you. Good bye for now!"

When we were out of the keep, T'mara looked at me with a smirk on her face and said: "He reminds me of you. After we met, for some time you also did not talk about your feelings towards me at all."

I smiled and responded: "True, but the main reason for that was that I wanted to find out first if the feelings were reciprocated. One sided feelings of love can hurt a lot."

T'mara replied: "Now, where do we find this Yngvar? Shall we first look at the inn?"

I nodded and agreed: "Yes, let's look there first. Somebody there should know where to find him."

As a matter of fact, Yngvar the Singer was at the inn himself, and a patron pointed him out. T'mara addressed Yngvar and explained that we wanted to know about Faleen´s interests. She also mentioned that it wasn't us being interested, but we were asking for somebody else.

Yngvar looked at us and smiled: "Ah, a secret admirer, eh? As for what she might like... I didn't tell you this. Faleen likes to act tough, but she really has a soft spot for, of all things, poetry. You know, I took some classes at the Bards College as a youth. Poems come in handy when wooing. There's a poem I once used on an older lady of Rorikstead. I can change it to be about Faleen, if you've got some gold. Are you prepared to receive my golden words?"

T'mara handed him the 200 septims he wanted, and Yngvar continued: "Wonderful. I'll write it out so you won't forget it. You should probably just let Faleen read it herself. Don't want you stumbling over the words and ruining my flow."

After he had completed the writing, he handed us a sheet of paper with a poem, and we hurried up to the Keep again to find Faleen. As housecarl to the Jarl finding her should not be difficult, and indeed the tough looking Redguard warrior was standing right beside her Jarl. T'mara asked her to step aside for a moment for a personal issue and gave her the poem, adding that this was sent with best regards from Calcelmo. Faleen took a few minutes reading it, and she was visibly impressed. She muttered something about Calcelmo´s unexpected words and quickly wrote a letter to bring back to Calcelmo, which we promised to do. He was glad to see us again, and even more so when he got Faleen´s letter. He mumbled: "This is... more than I could have hoped for. Have you really done this for me? I have to see her. Please, excuse me."

This being said, he ran off to see Faleen. Being curious, we followed with some distance, and we could see and hear enough to understand that the mission was successful. T'mara looked at me with a smile and said: "You know, being in love yourself it is so much easier to understand when others fall in love or dare to confess their love." And she continued: "I guess that our mission here is now completed, isn't it?"

As planned, all of us met again for dinner in my home and discussed the events of the day. Iona and Jordis reported that they had done a little shopping, but somehow did not like the city much, although they did not know exactly why; I had the same feeling, and this was a reason I usually did not spend much time here. We all agreed to leave again tomorrow, first heading to 'Red Eagle Redoubt'.

Quite early in the next morning we all walked out of the city and wanted to head straight to 'Kolskeggr Mine'. However, close to 'Salvius Farm' we ran into a miner called Pavo Attius, who told us that he used to work at the Kolskeggr mine.

I asked: "You're from Kolskeggr Mine?"

He replied: "Was. Forsworn came in the night. Killed everyone. Gat and I are the only ones who escaped. Hopefully Skaggi will send word to the Jarl and something will be done."

I told him: "That's too bad."

He sighed: "You're telling me."

I suspected that the Jarl might not actually be willing to do much about it. Looking at T'mara, I carefully suggested: "What if we took care of the Forsworn?"

He looked hopeful now: "I'd be grateful. Kolskeggr is my home. But, I wouldn't go there if I were you. There's a whole group of them with axes and magic on their side. You'd never stand a chance."

Addressing my companions, I said: "Look, we are going to pass the mine anyway. We can as well look what's happening there and drive off the Forsworn. Once we are done, two of us can get back here and report and the others can proceed to get the artifact, and we can meet again at 'Old Hroldan Inn' later on."

The mine was indeed not far from the city and we got there before noon. In order to be prepared for battle, we ate a quick early lunch and reviewed our armor and weapons. Entering the mine, we first came along a passage with lots of crates and barrels before getting to a crossroad, which was patrolled by a Forsworn; I was able to silently kill the enemy with my crossbow. From here on we did not know where to go and how man enemies we would find. Contrary to our normal stealth approach, I opted for a brute force approach this time and made a lot of noise with a pickaxe and a metal bucket to attract enemies. T'mara and myself had placed ourselves so that every path was covered, as we could fire at approaching enemies at will.

After a few minutes, we had killed about five or six Forsworn, and no more were coming. We now decided to move further down into the mine in pairs, covering two paths leading down from the main crossroad. T'mara took Iona, and I went with Jordis, so that we had an archer and a close combat expert in each pairing.

Jordis and I only found one more Forsworn further down and got some gold ore from a vein plus some minor loot, before we had to turn back and wait for the others. When T'mara and Iona finally returned quite some time later, Iona looked a bit worn, and T'mara reported that they had met a Briarheart, who had put up quite a fight. In total, we had gathered about ten or twelve pieces of gold ore, too. With all of the mine exploration and fighting we were not in the mood to continue walking today and thus decided to make camp here. We found a nice place close to Pavo's house outside and, as usual, had Pammy stand guard during the night.

After breakfast we discussed who would go where, and Iona and Jordis volunteered to walk towards Markarth and report back to Pavo; they would also bring most of the gold ore as a gift. A couple of days later we planned to meet at 'Old Hroldan Inn' again. T'mara and myself started to head north for a few minutes, and close to the next bridge we swam across the river to meet a small footpath leading east, towards 'Karthspire Camp'. According to the map, the path should turn upwards to 'Red Eagle Redoubt' before actually getting to the camp.

Fortunately the sun was up and not blocked by clouds, so that it was easier for us to get dry again after the river crossing; a quick but intense make out session in between also helped to warm up. Merrily and quickly we walked on, and after passing a clay deposit and an iron ore vein, the path did indeed turn left and lead upwards into the hills. From here on we needed to be careful, as we did not know which enemies we might encounter; naturally, this being the Reach, Forsworn were a likelihood.

Our caution was justified, as we could see a small camp ahead when looking up from behind a big boulder. Two Forsworn were visible, both looking in different directions and apparently standing guard. They had not seen us yet, and T'mara and I disposed of them with bow and crossbow. We waited for a few minutes to check if their demise was observed by others, but it did not look like that. Thus, we carefully continued to sneak upwards.

Around the next corner we saw what we assumed to be the main camp, and we noticed a couple of more Forsworn, with maybe one or two more in the tents. To save time, I sent Pammy ahead, and when she had drawn attention to her, we just rushed forward and overran the camp, which was done in less than a minute. From the main camp, an entrance lead into the hills, but there wasn't actually a need to investigate as we found what we had looked for – Hjalti's Sword – in a locked chest in the largest tent. Of course there was the temptation to dive into the hill and get more loot, but, as we were on a mission for Mara, we skipped and rather decided to proceed. We had made good time today and noon was still to come, so that we climbed across the wilderness for a couple of hours, stopped for a quick lunch close to the stone quarry at 'Soljund's Sinkhole', and went down the road towards 'Old Hroldan Inn'.

Halfway down we passed a Shrine of Mara, and naturally we stopped for a few minutes to pay our respects and talk to the few acolytes and travelers around it. Long before evening came we were down again at the inn and booked the same rooms as the first time; if the ghost showed again, we'd be able to deliver the weapon. Jordis and Iona were not expected tonight; they'd show up next day or day after, I guessed.

Naturally, this night we did not get to sleep easily, but fortunately the ghost did show up again. As son as we heard it and moved to the main taproom, it asked impatiently: "Did you bring my sword?" When T'mara confirmed and handed over the weapon, the ghost looked relieved: "Ah – finally!" and disappeared, but not before mysteriously increasing T'mara´s skill in one-handed weapons and blocking a little. I did not really understand how a skill could be increased just with a touch rather than real training, but this was a ghost after all, and in some aspects Skyrim was really odd, as I had already noticed a few times before.

Eydis, the innkeeper, looked at us and commented: "All of a sudden, the ghost disappeared. Do you think that he will be coming back? - I was just getting used to that ghost being here, and poof, now he's gone."

We could not answer her concerns and rather retired to our rooms again; now we could finally sleep.

Late on the next day Iona and Jordis also arrived, and we could continue our journey together. As we had the special tool 'Nettlebane' with us, which we had found at 'Orphan Rock', we wanted to actually use it and get some sap from 'Eldergleam Sanctuary', so that a detour was required. In order to get there, we'd have to pass Whiterun and either pass the mountains via Helgen or via 'Valtheim Towers', but that was a decision we could make later on. For now, we planned to walk back to Whiterun the same way we had arrived; there was not really a reasonable alternative.

When we had started on our way and walked close to the river, the ladies start to have some small talk, mostly about Lydia's and Inigo's upcoming wedding in Riften and potential preparations and gifts. As we took our time, we did not get too far on this day and decided to stop at Granite Hill for the night. There was no inn in the town, but we found a nice place to camp.

After dinner and some conversation with the few local inhabitants, eventually we retired to our bedrolls and soon fell asleep, with Pammy guarding us, as usual. The distance to Whiterun from here was no so very long, so that we took our time the next day, chatting with some village people and picking more flowers and plants as alchemy supplies. Soon after passing the side road to 'Bloated Man's Grotto' we encountered a group of Thalmor; as were not in the mood for arrogant words from them today we quickly passed them silently. When we were some distance away I mentioned to my companions that I had a bad feeling about the Thalmor and we might eventually have to fight them.

An hour later we passed the Western Watchtower, and Whiterun was now visible, with Dragonsreach stretching high above the city. I had always had a feeling of home when I looked at that, although my real home was Riverside Lodge, but Whiterun was the place where most of my friends were, and a Jarl I could proudly call my friend. Today, though, we only quickly visited Jorrvaskr to say hello and moved on to Riverside Lodge for the night, as our goal was further east anyway.

We decided to spend a relaxed day at the lodge, and one day later Iona, Jordis, T'mara and myself moved on towards Eldergleam Sanctuary via 'Valtheim Towers'. As we had cleared the towers some time ago, this might be a good way to go. We walked quite quickly and with only few interruptions, and we actually succeeded to reach the sanctuary at dusk; entering the cave we talked to the acolytes and set up our tents and bedrolls, as we were quite tired after the long walk.

Shortly after dawn the followers of Kynareth politely invited us for breakfast and we accepted. While eating we mentioned that we had gained the 'Nettlebane' and were prepared to harvest some sap from the big tree as instructed by Danica. A Breton called Maurice, however, pleaded: "Please do not cut the roots of the great and beautiful Eldergleam tree here in the cave; the spirits of the tree will object, and the peace of the sanctuary will be impacted!"

I objected: "But how can we get sap from the tree without damaging it?"

Maurice suggested: "I believe that I could make the tree to create a sapling you can take to rejuvenate the tree in Whiterun – this should work as well."

I was not sure how this might work, but we walked over to the tree together. Maurice started to pray to Kynareth, and after some time a sapling was actually apparent, growing somewhat, and finally separated itself from the main tree. Maurice looked exhausted but happy when he noticed that, and I confirmed that this was good enough for us: "Thank you for your effort, Maurice. I am quite happy that we can get something to help the Gildergreen tree without having to hurt the Eldergleam tree here. I will do my best to convince Danica that this is the best approach."

The day was still quite young, and we decided to first go to Riften to hopefully complete Mara´s tasks, and bring the sapling to Whiterun later on. We quickly moved on and managed to get to Riften shortly after dusk, happily finding our beds in Honeyside, with Jordis and Iona taking the guest bedroom.

However, when entering the temple of Mara on the next day, we were a little bit disappointed, as a new tasks was bestowed upon us. We were supposed to reunite two lovers in the area of 'Gjukar´s Monument', west of Whiterun. Well, we were looking forward to finally getting to Winterhold, but as we had committed ourselves to Mara's blessing, it was fair to first complete the related tasks, and thus we were on the road again soon enough.

This time we decided to take the carriage to Whiterun, and once we had arrived there, our first task was to visit Danica at the Temple of Kynareth. When she saw us approaching, T'mara reported: "We were asked by the priests of Kynareth in Eldergleam Sanctuary to not harm the tree by cutting into it to retrieve sap. However, Maurice prayed to the goddess and made the tree create and release a sapling for us. They are convinced that the sapling can replace the dying old tree here and replace it quite quickly, and we just did not want to damage the beautiful Eldergleam tree."

Danica looked skeptical: "Replacing the huge Gildergreen with a small sapling is not exactly what I had in mind. But I understand the concerns and we will make it work somehow. Thank you for your effort, and please let me provide some training in your restoration skill!"

Once both T'mara's and my own restoration skill had improved a little magically – well, magic was something really wonderful in Tamriel after all, and although being part Nord, I could not imagine to live in a place without magic – I commented: "We all hope to see the new Gildergreen tree growing and prospering, and we are sure that you will do your best to support it."

With that we took our leave and retired to Breezehome for the night, with Jordis and Iona taking the guestroom.

_[Author's Note: Merry Christmas and wonderful holidays to all of my faithful readers!]_


	33. Chapter 33 - Mara's blessings - part 4

**Chapter 33: Mara's blessings - part 4**

_[6__th__ – 17__th__ of Sun's Dawn 4E 202]_

During breakfast in the next morning Jordis spread out the map and illustrated where we would have to go to in order to complete our current task, before hopefully returning to Riften for Lydia's and Inigo's wedding. 'Gjukar´s Monument', our target, was not far from Rorikstead, and thus we needed to walk westward for quite some time. Passing the Western Watchtower we greeted the few guards manning it, and we also took our time to again collect some mountain flowers and other plants while merrily walking; I firmly believed that one could never have too many ingredients for a healing potion. Once again we sneaked past Fort Greymoor and followed the road in southwesterly direction, just to cut cross country soon, heading directly west.

A couple of hours later we got close to the monument and soon encountered a ghost, apparently that of a woman. When she noticed us, she started to talk: "I'm Ruki, and I am searching for my Fenrig. He was marching with Gjukar's men, who they say were wiped out here. I've turned over every body, though, and I can't find him. Please help me look. He has a bright red beard and hair."

We were confused as we had not seen any bodies around and told her so. She just responded: "He must be here somewhere…".

After some more searching in the monument's vicinity, we split up to cover a larger area, and a couple of hours later I finally found another ghost quite some distance to the northeast. When I greeted him he looked somewhat worried and told me: "We're expected to fight there tomorrow. Gjukar elected to camp here for the night. I don't like it, though. Ruki – do you know where she is?"

When I confirmed that I did indeed know her location, he stated: "If she's come this far from home, it must be important. Lead on. I just need to report back to camp by sunrise."

Quickly I guided him towards the monument, and soon the two ghosts noticed each other.

"Fenrig! You're alive!"

"Of course I am. What brings you here?"

"I had heard that Gjukar's men were wiped out. I came to find you."

"But that battle isn't expected until tomorrow... Ruki, what's going on?"

"I'm so confused. What's happening?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm here. We're together now. And we will be forever."

Finally we could watch as the two ghosts flew up into the sky together, hopefully to spend eternity there, and it looked like this task was now completed. My wife and I hugged each other, being happy and relieved to see the two together again, although we weren't sure to what extent that would actually be an issue for ghosts. With all of the searching, the day was almost over, and thus we decided to camp right here with Pammy guarding us. T'mara and I were of course curious if there were any further tasks waiting for us in Riften, but we'd have to wait and see.

A few days later we arrived in Riften again, and we soon found Lydia and Inigo. Their wedding preparations were done, and the ceremony was tentatively planned for day after tomorrow. We also looked for M'lissa, but learned that she was out and had been for some time. Iona and Jordis went with Lydia and Inigo to help with final preparations, while T'mara and I went to the Temple of Mara to report on our success. The priestess, Dinya Balu, was happy to hear about our work: "Mara is really pleased about the work you did for her, and so am I. You have proven to be worthy of her blessing, and as a final favor I would like you to spread her word further in the city of Riften by distributing her pamphlets among the citizen." With that she handed us a stack of those pamphlets, which we took and took our leave. My pretty wife and I had a quick look at one of the pamphlets, and the missive started like this: "Rejoice, Reader… For Mara's Light Shines Upon YOU!" Reading the whole text we agreed that we should indeed distribute the pamphlets, and the upcoming wedding would be a good opportunity to do so.

As we had one day off prior to the wedding, my wife and I decided to visit Castle Dawnguard for one day. Our hike there was only interrupted by a minor dragon, whom we quickly dispatched; T'mara was happy to catch another dragon soul and mentioned that we should eventually look for more word walls, so that she could expand her knowledge of Shouts.

Sorine Jurard was delighted to heard about Calcelmo's interest in the Dwemer weapons: "Maybe he can help us to find further hints towards improving the bolts and crossbows. Please make sure to talk to him about that when you see him again!" Further she added: "By the way, have you seen our trained huskies yet? The Vigilants of Stendarr have used them as help to fight vampires for some years, and we have started to take over. I believe that you might be eligible to taking one, if you want."

T'mara looked at me and urged me to have a look. We quickly found a group of them in a kennel, and one whose name was Bran seemed to like T'mara a lot; his big eyes seemed to beg her to select him. My wife was indeed somewhat enchanted by seeing him. After some licking and petting she looked up at me and begged: "Timotheus, please, can we take Bran with us? He is soooo cute..."

I smiled and did not hesitate to agree: "Sure we can, once we have asked permission. I do like dogs, too, and Bran seems to be really nice. I am sure that we will get along quite well, and I am looking forward to have him as our companion. We need to find out if he can tolerate my familiar, Pammy, though."

In order to find out quickly, we guided Bran out for a quick walk, and I conjured Pammy. They sniffed at each other, and it certainly looked like they were getting along well, as they quickly ran around in circles and explored the vicinity together. While I left my wife behind to watch them, I went to Isran and asked permission to take Bran with us. He smiled and granted this: "Sure, take him. He is one of our best, and as you get around a lot, he may be a great help once you encounter more vampires." I thanked him and went outside again, to find my wife very happily playing with both Pammy and Bran.

Happy with our visit, we made our way back to Riften to make sure that we got there for the night, as we wanted to be fully rested for the big day tomorrow. All of the 'girls' (T'mara, Iona and Jordis) spent an hour with Lydia before going to bed, to talk about final details, whereas I had a chat with Inigo. Apparently the Khajiit was much less concerned about details than his future wife, and he seemed to be quite happy to have Lydia and the others do most of the planning. I understood this; after all, a wedding in Skyrim was quite common, and there was not really a need to plan too much ahead. However, some ladies apparently thought different. Well, it was not my wedding.

The sun was rising to a clear sky on the next day, and fortunately only few clouds were visible on the early morning sky. T'mara jumped out of our bed quickly and vanished, just telling me that she had to help Lydia to get into her wedding dress. I did not really understand why she was in a hurry, as the wedding was only supposed to start much later in the morning, but that was all right for me. I took my time yawning and stretching, enjoying breakfast, and finally entering Inigo's room to check if he needed any help. He bickered a little about the formal dress he was supposed to wear and said that his normal attire was so much more comfortable, but after all he'd only have to suffer through that for a day.

"But, my friend and thane", Inigo started, "I am glad that you are here. Will you do me the favor and stand by my side in the temple? I could need some moral support, as the girls are sure to bond together, and I am just a little bit afraid that I might feel intimidated!"

I laughed a little bit and answered: "Of course, my dear friend Inigo, I will do that."

Just before the ceremony was supposed to start, Inigo and I walked over to the temple, and Lydia was escorted there as well, flanked of course by Iona and Jordis. I had to admit that Lydia looked gorgeous in her wedding dress. Since I had known her, I had very rarely seen her in a dress or skirt at all, as she almost always preferred her heavy armor, and I knew that she even slept in her armor frequently, at least when traveling. Seeing her clad like this was a special sight, and although Inigo had seen her probably with different or even no clothes before, I could see his eyes almost popping out. On the other hand, Inigo also looked very handsome, and I noticed Lydia blushing a little when looking at him. Naturally, I had to be careful and not look at Lydia to much, if I wanted to avoid getting admonished by my wife, but I was too late for that, as she stepped close to me and whispered:

"Timotheus, don't stare at the bride all of the time!"

I replied, also whispering: "T'mara, she looks gorgeous in that dress, but I am spoken for, and there is only one girl whom I love and who makes my heart sing, and that's you, my dearest! By the way, your dress looks very nice on you!"

T'mara looked up at me and smiled – apparently I had provided the proper answer.

In the temple I stood next to Inigo and T'mara stood next to Lydia while the rites were performed, and half an hour later Lydia and Inigo were a married couple and the party started. Similar to our wedding in Whiterun, almost everybody in the town was invited to take part, and even the Jarl showed up for some time. Most of the Riften guards managed to stop by at least for a few minutes, and the party got a little heated when a dragon also showed itself in the city. Despite the semi-drunk state of lots of people, the guards, T'mara and myself managed to fight it off quickly enough, and when it crashed down just outside of the norther city gate, we killed it, allowing T'mara to absorb the soul as usual. Some of the party guest simply assumed that this was planned interruption; we knew better, but decided not to correct the rumors. Later on, we also found plenty of opportunity to distribute Mara's pamphlets, and many citizens were in a mood to at least have a look.

"I believe that we have done our part to spread Mara's word here in Riften and also in some other places", I told my wife, and she happily agreed.

In the evening, we took our leave from the newlyweds, who were planing to spend one night here and start off to their undisclosed honeymoon location the day after. We agreed to expect them in Winterhold a few weeks later. Although Lydia had initially been not a friend of magic at all, she had spent much time with Inigo and had managed to at least partially overcome her aversion to magic; by now she was at least able to cast a minor flame and sparks spell as well as the lowest level of magelight. Later on, she and Inigo would also spend some time at the college to relax and learn, and we would meet there.

While we waved them off towards their wedding night, T'mara looked up at me with her very special smile and just purred "Dragon soul – you know what that means?" I smiled back at her and responded: "Yes, my dear, I do. Let's hurry up and find the bedroom in Honeyside, and let's also hope that Bran does not get in the way!"

Fortunately, it turned out that Bran preferred to stay outside anyway, as he was trained to patrol during the night; thus he was just fine joining the Riften guards during their nightly vigil. We allowed ourselves to sleep in on the next day and had a late breakfast, and afterwards we picked up Bran again, who had found a quiet corner to get some well earned sleep. As it was about time to embark on our journey to Winterhold, we arranged to take a carriage to Windhelm for early in the next morning for the first part. We spent the remaining day in Riften and got some more supplies. We also talked to Iona and Jordis and ask them to keep our multiple homes in order; they would not join us in Winterhold.

After one more night in Honeyside, we got up early in the morning, collected our belongings, and hopped on the carriage. T'mara looked back as we left and said: "Good bye for now, Riften. We spent some happy time here, but now we are expected somewhere else. I do hope that we can be back at some time in the future!"

The carriage driver could afford to take the direct road towards Windhelm this time, via Fort Greenwall, as the fort had recently been cleared from bandits by Riften guards. Thus, we arrived at Shor's Stone before lunch, and after a short break we proceeded. In the late afternoon we passed the hot springs, and my pretty Khajiit wife suddenly exclaimed and looked at me with big eyes: "Let us get off here and enjoy the springs one more time, pretty please!"

I smiled hearing the way she said this, and I told her that I wouldn't mind that at all. We had the driver stop for a couple of minutes and got off with our packs, to walk in the direction of that special pond we had used a few times before. Bran had not been here before, and he ran around excitedly. After a while he looked up at me in a special way, and I understood that he wanted me to conjure his friend Pammy, which I did – the two of them were now happily chasing each other and having lots of fun.

The sun was already quite low we we arrived at our favorite pond, and although the hot water beckoned, we decided to enjoy this on the next day, as the winter air was cold and we would need sunshine to get dry afterwards. Thus we erected our tent, had a quick supper, and retired into our sleeping bag, with both Bran and Pammy guarding our sleep.

When I woke up again, the sun was already up, and I could hear my wife snoring a little next to me; it appeared that she was still in deep sleep. I got an idea and decided to do a prank on her. Following some pre-sleep activities from last evening, both of us were still fully in the nude. Carefully I picked her up in my arms, walked over to the nearby hot spring, stepped in, and dumped her inmidst of the small pond. Naturally, that woke her up immediately, but when she turned around to see what had happened I had already submerged my body so that it could not be seen at first glance. When she continued to turn around to get back some orientation, I grabbed her from behind, touched some sensitive areas, and made her squeak in very high pitches. When she had calmed down and turned around to face me, she could not avoid to smile, but tried to look serious while saying: "You are in so much trouble, my dear husband!" When I failed to look concerned, we both laughed and had quite some more fun in the pond, which somehow went way beyond the kissing we had done last time we were here, but at that time we had not been married yet.

After spending almost all day frolicking around and having a good time, we got out and helped ourselves to get dry, supported by the low power fire spell I had used last time on Inigo. We made our way towards Windhelm in the late afternoon, so that we could hopefully catch a ride to Winterhold in the morning after. When we reached the big gate, one of the guards looked at us and mentioned thoughtfully: "I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee.…". Really, didn't they have any other greeting? I must have heard that phrase hundreds of times before.

After spending a night in the local inn, we found that no carriage was scheduled to go to Winterhold in the next few days. We learned that the route was not popular at all, as usually no passengers were waiting for the return trip. As we did not want to wait for a week or longer, we decided to walk. Rather than following the main road, we were going to take a shortcut by turning north from the docks, past the local Winterhold Stormcloak Camp, to meet the road again close to 'Whistling Mine'. This should be doable in one day for some trained warriors like us, I thought.

I had warned my wife before: "If we do that, walking will be demanding, as we have to go uphill for quite some time, and we are likely to encounter snow bears and ice wraiths and such. Most likely, you are going to be exhausted in the evening!"

But she replied: "That's all right. We have had a lot of slow and quiet days, let's do something demanding for a change; we need some real exercise to keep our bodies in shape, I think. Let's go!"

I smiled: "All right, off we go!"

We had risen very early, long before sunrise, as we had not known if or when a carriage might have been scheduled. The sun was still not yet up when we stepped down to the docks and turned towards the snow and ice along the bay. Pammy and Bran were happily running around in circles, sometimes ahead of us, sometimes behind us, and sometimes on the side. T'mara couldn't avoid smiling when watching those two, and neither could I. It did not take us long to reach the camp, and from there, we had to hike uphill a lot. Fortunately, we were both in good condition and well trained, so that we could manage. Eventually, though, maybe half way up to the mine, T'mara was slowing down and demanded a break: "Come on, Timotheus, stop showing off – time for a break and something to eat!"

"All right, my dear – why not?" I replied, and we sat down on a few rocks, unpacking our supplies. Bran also got some meat to devour, and we rested for about twenty minutes before resuming our trip. Just when we had started to march on, Bran and Pammy suddenly stopped and raised their ears. We looked around, and soon a couple of snow bears approached from the side. T'mara blurted out: "Let me do this, please!" and raised her hand to cast fire balls. As her magic was not trained that much, the fireballs hurt the bears, but did not stop them. I was starting to get concerned, but my wife had her axe out in no time and fought expertly, so that the two beats eventually went down. T'mara had a few scratches, though, but nothing serious.

From that point on we were able to reach the road without further interruptions, and when being close to the mine, we had our lunch meal. We met Thorgar, the mine owner, and he proudly claimed: "I know they laughed when I said I wanted to keep the mine open. I'll show them. I'll show them all." One of his companions added: "It's going to happen soon, I know it. We'll strike something better then iron. Silver, or maybe even gold. You'll see."

After lunch, we wished them good luck on their mining and proceeded towards the city.


	34. Chapter 34 - The College of Winterhold

**Chapter 34: The College of Winterhold**

_[17__th__ – 21__st__ of Sun's Dawn 4E 202]_

Arriving in Winterhold was always the same. It did not matter if you came in summer or winter, there was always snow on the ground, and more often than not a minor snowstorm was blowing through the city streets. Although the city had once been the capital of Skyrim, little grandeur remained from that time. After the Great Collapse in 4E 122, rebuilding had not been done on a larger scale, and the hold's main city was not much more than a very small town nowadays, surrounded by ruins. With its high and impressive buildings, the college dominated the city, and the few remaining residents seemed to be mostly wary of the college and the mages. I had told my wife before a little bit about the city and the event which was commonly called the 'Great Collapse', which had made part of the former city slide down to the sea, but had mysteriously spared the college altogether, except for minor damage to the bridge.

T'mara looked somewhat disappointed when we walked through the city: "This is Winterhold? Nobody did some rebuilding after the Great Collapse? If the city looks like this, the college sure won't look much better, I suspect..."

Having been there before, I just smiled and guided her towards the bridge which was the only visible access to the college. As usual, a guard was posted, and I recognized Mirabelle Ervine, master wizard and in charge of operations at the college. When she saw me, she smiled and said: "Timotheus, my friend – it is good to see you again! How have you been, and who is the lovely lady next to you?"

Fortunately, most of the wizards at the college did not have any kind of aversion against non mer/men races, like we had seen in Winterhold. I replied, with a grin: "Mirabelle, may I introduce my wife T'mara – T'mara, may I introduce Mirabelle Ervine, master wizard of the College of Winterhold!"

Mirabelle's jaw dropped down: "You got married? To a Khajiit? Wow – that sure is interesting news, and I expect that there is a special story behind it."

I told her: "Yes, there is, and I will be happy to tell it later on. For now, my wife and I would prefer to get inside, as we have a long hike behind us".

Mirabelle responded: "I understand, but you know as well as I do that all newcomers have to be tested for magic, and this does include spouses."

I smirked as this was what I had been waiting for, knowing that the master wizard was in for a surprise: "Yes, of course. Would you mind stepping aside just to be make sure you that are not getting hurt?"

Mirabelle was not sure why but she did step aside. I whispered to my wife telling her to shout 'YOL' into the circle on the road, and she complied. When the shout's echo was ebbing down, Mirabelle's jaw was hanging even lower than before, and she asked: "Was that a dragon shout?"

Both T'mara and I nodded, and the master wizard asked again: "Assuming that you have not spend almost all of your youth at High Hrothgar, and specifically as I have heard rumors that the Dragonborn has appeared and is a young Khajiit, is it possible that you are Dragonborn?"

We nodded again, and Mirabelle asked us to come in; the archmage would sure want to see us. When walking across the narrow bridge, which was the only discernible access to the college, my wife stopped a few times to look around. Naturally clouds and slow limited the view and the setting sun could just be briefly glimpsed, but I told her the vista was spectacular on the few sunny days they got here.

While it turned out that the archmage was busy and had to move our conversation to the next day, we claimed that we did not mind, as we were somewhat tired after our long walk. We met Tolfdir and got some quarters assigned. Tolfdir apologized: "We do not really have special quarters for married mages. Of course you can claim a wizard's room, Timotheus, but your wife either has to squeeze in with you or use a separate, smaller guest room in a different wing."

T'mara looked at me and asked: "What does he imply by 'squeezing in'?"

I smirked: "The beds are not very wide. I hope you are with me that we do not mind?"

My wife looked back at me while smiling: "No, not really – let's see the room!"

Tolfdir had followed our conversation and said: "That's what I had expected. Come on, I'll show you to the room."

At least the wizard's quarters – as I had the official rank of wizard here, I qualified for one of those rooms – had doors, and the bed was indeed not very wide, but fortunately a little longer than normal, as quite a few wizards were tall. T'mara and I quickly agreed that this would be quite all right for us, dropped our backpacks, and followed Tolfdir to the dining area for some supper. We met Colette and Faralda, and we promised to tell part of our story on one of the next days.

Naturally, as we had arrived late on the day before, T'mara was interested to learn more about the college, the wizards, and the various halls and rooms. Tolfdir was about to teach a lecture on destruction magic and wards and invited both of us to attend, so that we walked to the Hall of Elements with him.

He introduced us to the current group of students in his class: "The Dunmer is Brelyna; she is from the House of Telvanni and very dedicated to magic. She specializes in Alteration and Illusion, but without neglecting the other schools. J'zargo, the Khajiit, makes fast progress in destruction magic, and he is somewhat overambitious. Onmund, finally, is one of the few Nords we have here."

Addressing the other students, he continued: "Students, Timotheus was here at the college before and he is a full wizard. His wife, T'mara, has some basic knowledge in magic and wants to improve it here. She is not yet sure which school of magic to specialize in. At least for today, both of them will join us here for an hour or two, and you will see both of them a lot over the next days and weeks."

We had all agreed to not mention that T'mara was Dragonborn, at least for the time being. For now, this was to be kept between the archmage, master wizards, and ourselves.

Apparently there had been some discussion recently on how to continue the lessons, and some of the other students demanded to get more practical.

Tolfdir said that he understood that request: "Of course. You all certainly possess some inherent natural ability. That much is not being questioned. What I'm talking about is true control, mastery of magic. It takes years, if not decades, of practice and study."

J'zargo cut in: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started!"

Tolfdir got his hands up: "Please, please! This is exactly what I'm talking about. Eagerness must be tempered with caution, or else disaster is inevitable."

Onmund objected: "But we've only recently arrived here – you've no idea what any of us are really capable of. Why not give us a chance to show you what we can do?"

Tolfdir stated: "All right, let's settle down. I suppose we can try something practical... In continuing with our theme of safety, we'll start with wards. Wards are protective spells that block magic. I'll teach you all a ward, and we'll see if you can successfully use it to block spells, all right? Whereas warriors can block with a shield or a weapon, the daggers we usually carry are not very suitable for that. Also, weapons cannot normally blocks magic attacks. With a filled magicka pool, a trained wizard can raise a ward to protect from both weapons and spells. Does everybody know how cast a ward spell?"

T'mara admitted that she knew the spell, but that she had never really used it. The older wizard replied: "That's what this lesson is for. Perfect time to try it out. Now, if you'll just stand right over there, I'll cast a spell at you, and you block it with the ward. Here we go. Over there, please. Just opposite me. Wouldn't want anyone else in the way. Now, cast the ward spell, and keep it up. Hold still."

After a few attempts, my wife succeeded to cast a ward spell, although a pretty weak one. She was able to deflect Tolfdir's fireball, and the wizard commented: "Excellent work! You should probably practice more to increase strength and duration for the spell."

Onmund and Brelyna practiced together, and J'zargo approached my wife: "This one would be delighted in help you practicing. J'zargo wants to improve his destruction spells, and maybe you can help." He added: "Have you mastered the Expert level destruction spells yet?"

T'mara shook her head: "That's far beyond my level of skill."

J'zargo replied: "Is it? This is disappointing. J'zargo hoped there might be one who could keep pace with his accomplishments."

My wife was not quite sure how to react to that: "You seem very sure of yourself."

J'zargo nodded: "There is much for J'zargo to be sure of. There is skill in magic, there is charm, and there is a strong will. J'zargo will be successful, of this there is no doubt."

Despite J'zargo's cockiness, my wife was spending quite some time with him; after all, he was a fellow Khajiit. Most of the time she was practicing her wards, and the male Khajiit was throwing different kind of fireballs at her. One hour later, both of them were quite spent, but they had made progress, and I was proud of my wife.

At the end of the lesson I stepped closer to Onmund, as I was curious about what made a Nord study magic. Once I had introduced myself properly and we had exchanged a few words, I asked him: "Is it difficult being away from family?"

He replied: "Not at all. I consider it a blessing. My parents were convinced that coming here was a death sentence, or worse. It took years of insisting that this is what I'm meant to do, and so far I have not had a reason to regret my decision."

We had lunch together with Tolfdir and the other students, and in the early afternoon we visited the library. Urag gro-Shub, the Orc librarian, must have remembered me, but he uttered his standard warning nonetheless: "You need a book, you talk to me. Otherwise you're going to find yourself in a lot of pain."

T'mara was impressed by the library: "This is quite an impressive library."

The Orc explained: "A mage is only as good as what he knows. I try and make sure as much knowledge is available as possible. We've been keeping this collection since the Second Era. Books have come and gone during that time, but the library is mostly intact."

Later on in the day we finally met the archmage, and Savos Aren invited us to his quarters for a chat. T'mara used the opportunity to ask a few questions about the college: "What's the purpose of the College?"

The arch mage carefully replied: "Purpose? I should think it's self-evident. Magic is a true power, not something to be shunned by commoners or treated as an amusing diversion by politicians. It shapes worlds, creates and destroys life... It deserves proper respect and study. The College is a place where we can focus on that, without the pressures of the world weighing down on us."

My wife continued: "I'd like to know more about the College's history."

Savos Aren answered: "I've seen documents dating back to the late Second Era. Beyond that, it's hard to say. Events in the last several hundred years resulted in a significant loss of our history, I'm afraid."

My wife and I elaborated on our background and on her Dragonborn status and tasks, and we explained that we believed she needed to expand her knowledge on magic in order to work on the dragon issues. The archmage nodded and assured us that we could of course stay here as long as we wanted. "Although", he added with a smirk, "it would not hurt if you made yourselves useful from time to time."

I understood what he meant, and at the end of the day we retired to our room again, happily cuddled in our narrow bed, and finally slept.

The following day was mostly spent with showing my wife the college grounds and halls. Based on the poor state of the town she had not expected much, but she was now clearly surprised. We had a long meeting with the archmage and the most senior wizards and told our story, so that they knew our background. T'mara said: "I was really hoping to improve my magic skills here so that I am better prepared for my Dragonborn tasks and quests. I do not know exactly what kind of challenges await me, but fortunately I also have a very capable husband at my side. Thank you for allowing me to stay for a while!"

My wife also used the opportunity to ask Faralda on her opinion on destruction spells, as she had only basic knowledge of them. The wizard replied: "Destruction spells come in different forms, each useful for various purposes. Concentration spells can be cast immediately, though they're weaker. Good for a tight spot, and less costly if you miss. You'll also need to decide whether to devote yourself to a single type of spell. Focusing solely on flame spells will make them more powerful, but you may find yourself at a disadvantage against foes immune to fire."

Mirabelle also offered a few words, when being asked where new spells could be learned: "Faralda can teach Destruction spells, and offers training in that school. Phinis is one of the best Conjurers in all of Skyrim, and can help with spells from that school. Don't let Tolfdir fool you; he's the pre-eminent scholar on Alteration. One of the best in Tamriel, and always willing to pass on his knowledge. If you can find him and focus his attention, there's a great deal Drevis can teach you about Illusion magic. And finally, there's Colette. She may be... difficult to get along with, she's very knowledgeable when it comes to Restoration magic."

Finally I added that I also planned to improve my skills, and that I would occasionally attend lessons or practice on the college grounds. I was kind of looking forward to spending some lazy days here without too much of an adventure. Alas, I should have known of course that lack of adventures was not something waiting for me.

As the sun was shining brightly on the next day, we decided to go for a walk into town for a couple of hours. While crossing the bridge, we stopped a few times and enjoyed the view, which my wife was able to see for the first time in full glory. I pointed out a few points of interest to her, such as the Sea of Ghosts to the north and east, Ysgramor's Tomb to the west, and the Shrine of Azura to the south. Other interesting places not far from here, such as Saarthal, were hidden behind mountain ranges. What the area lacked, though, was trees. Whereas most parts of Skyrim had lots of or at least some trees, Winterhold had only few, just a few coniferous trees and mostly snowberry bushes. In theory there should be at least some dwarf pines or so being able to resist the cold and grow in groups, but even those seemed to be very rare. Sure, there were some smaller groups of fir trees or similar in the city and in the college, but not many outside, and I had yet to see something even remotely resembling a forest in the hold. Sometimes I wondered where the few inhabitants in the city of Winterhold got their firewood from.

While walking slowly towards and getting close to the local inn 'The Frozen Hearth', we encountered a female Khajiit who looked somewhat familiar. T'mara stepped closer and shouted: "M'lissa, is that really you?"

The Khajiit turned around and replied: "T'mara, yes, it is me, indeed! Fancy meeting you here in Winterhold!"

T'mara smiled and replied: "My husband and I have finally managed to travel here and attend the college."

M'lissa looked quite surprised: "You are actually married now?"

My wife nodded and confirmed: "Yes, we are. We missed you for our wedding, but you were out for some kind of guild task, I believe."

M'lissa's face turned dark: "Yes, I was, indeed. Can we find a quiet place and talk?"

We went into the inn and got some drinks. While the innkeeper gave us strange and disapproving looks, T'mara and I both got milk, while M'lissa had mead. She explained:

"I had gained Mercer Frey's confidence, and he ordered me to meet him outside of 'Snow Veil Sanctum' for an important task. We went inside together and finally encountered Karliah, who supposedly had betrayed the guild a long time ago and murdered her companion Gallus. Karliah shot me with a poisoned arrow which paralyzed me, but it did not prevent me to hear the conversation between the two of them. It actually turned out that Mercer was the traitor and the murderer, and Karliah wanted to bring him to justice. Alas, she failed to apprehend him and he could flee, not before stabbing me in the chest. Karliah's poison had slowed down my heartbeat significantly, which saved me, and she restored my health afterwards, but it took weeks to get me back to full health. I finally arrived here a couple of day ago and just spoke to Enthir, a Bosmer merchant and sorcerer who sometimes does trade with the college. We need to get Calcelmo's help to translate an old journal of Gallus, which is written in Falmer language; this might help us to prove Karliah's innocence and Mercer's betrayal."

This was hard to believe, but on the other hand none of us had really known Mercer Frey well at all. T'mara and I were quite shocked and could not speak for a minute or two. T'mara asked with concern if her cousin was fully healed now, and she confirmed that: "Yes, thanks to Karliah I am back to my full health. Karliah turned out to be a very good friend, and I hope to be able to restore her reputation and get her back into the guild."

Thinking about the issue I suggested: "I happen to be acquainted to Calcelmo, court wizard to the Jarl of Markarth, and he owes me a favor or two, I believe. Maybe I should go to Markarth with you and assist in getting the journal translated to speed up the process. T'mara, would you mind staying here on your own for a week or two and continue your magic studies?"

My wife slowly replied: "While I am not looking forward at all to be separated from you for more than a week, this may indeed be a wise choice. I really want to help my cousin M'lissa, and this appears to be the best option. But Bran stays with me – you have got Pammy!"

We went back to the college, and my friend and colleague Tolfdir promised to take good care of my wife and guide here along her studies. He mentioned that he planned to take the students to the ruins of 'Saarthal' in a few days, where excavations and investigations were currently ongoing. "This will be a perfect and excellent opportunity for the students to get their hands dirty and get acquainted with the search for artifacts, which is part of our work here in the college", he said. "After all, Saarthal was one of the earliest Nord settlements in Skyrim, and we plan to spend a few days there. If we are not back from there when you return, you will know at least where to find us, and maybe you can even help us digging and exploring for a day or two."

T'mara and I spent most of the afternoon with some more training, and she also got introduced to most of the other wizards. Unfortunately that included Ancano, the Thalmor, who was officially just visiting and learning, but was supposed to be more of a spy for the Thalmor. He was not liked much and showed a nosy and arrogant attitude. Quite frequently he had to be reminded by the archmage and the master wizards that he was a guest and needed to behave as one. With my size and broad shoulders, towering even over most Thalmor, I usually did not have to say a word and rather succeeded in intimidating him when he was getting too close to me. Most students were not so luckily and were frequently pestered with annoying questions.

When we finally got to bed, I was ready to turn around and start to sleep, considering that I was going to travel again on the next day. My Khajiit wife, though, had other plans: "Timotheus, you are going to be off for ten days or so. I don't care if you are going to be tired and exhausted tomorrow, but this night you are mine!" I pretended to be offended for a few minutes, but soon she managed to get my full cooperation in making love multiple times. To be honest, being tired for a day was a price I was more than willing to pay for such a night.


	35. Chapter 35 - Side trip to Markarth

**Chapter 35: Side trip to Markarth**

_[22__nd __– 4__th__ of First Seed 4E 202]_

Before sunrise I got up, took my leave from the mages, and walked down to the city together with T'mara; she was going to see me off in town. We met M'lissa at the inn, were introduced to Karliah and Enthir, and soon M'lissa and I hopped onto the carriage to Markarth. For a while we were just sitting there, enjoying the winter landscape while being wrapped tightly in blankets against the cold, but soon the Khajiit got curious: "Timotheus, tell me, how was your wedding?"

I smiled and told her: "Well, you may recall that T'mara had proposed to me when we were in Riften, at the time we saw you last. A couple of weeks later we had our wedding in Whiterun; the Jarl insisted on offering Dragonsreach for the party, as we're both his Thanes. We spent our honeymoon in our house in Riften..."

M'lissa interrupted me: "You have got a house in Riften, too?"

I nodded: "Yes, we do. We were allowed to purchase property in Riften after we helped out the Jarl in some matters and T'mara was declared Thane of the Rift there."

The Khajiit looked surprised: "Wow, you do get around."

I continued the story: "Afterwards, we did some quests on behalf of Lady Mara, and finally, after attending the wedding of our two best friends – Lydia and Inigo – we managed to get to Winterhold, so that my wife can improve on her magic skills. I guess, I can learn more, too."

We carried on talking about various topics until we arrived at our first stop, Nightgate Inn, located in a tiny hamlet called 'Helarchen Creek'. It was a little early for a night stop, but this was a convenient location. For the next days, progress should be faster as we were supposed to have less snow on the road soon, once we had reached in Whiterun hold.

Indeed we got to Markarth after two more days of boring carriage travel, although we kept talking for some time, and a couple of times we had also been interrupted by some bandits and highwaymen. M'lissa learned more about us, while I was introduced to some stories related to Thieves Guild; of course she did not spill any guild secrets, though. In Markarth, I showed M'lissa to the guest room in my house, Vlindrel Hall, for the night. The Khajiit gave me another odd look seeing that I owned a house here in Markarth as well, but graciously accepted the opportunity to sleep on a bed which actually had a soft cover mollifying the stone foundation which was so typical here in this city.

After spending a night in my house, M'lissa and I walked up to the Keep and turned towards Calcelmo's work area. He smiled when he recognized me, and after exchanging a few pleasant phrases I explained: "Calcelmo, I am afraid that we need your help. A friend has died and left a journal which appears to be written in the Falmer language. I believe that you are best suited to help us with that!"

Calcelmo replied: "Then you were well informed. I am at this very moment on the cusp of completing my magnum opus on the subject. I'm calling it 'Calcelmo's Guide to the Falmer Tongue'. It will revolutionize the way we understand those ancient beings."

I was happy to hear that: "This is great! Perhaps I could view your work?"

The wizard did not like that idea at all: "Preposterous! That research represents years of personal toil in some of the most dangerous Dwemer ruins in Skyrim! You must be mad to think I'd allow anyone to see it before it's completed."

I took a step back and answered: "Calcelmo, maybe it is not required that we actually look into your work, but if you could simply translate that journal for us? I know that you are a busy man, but maybe there is something we could do for you in return?"

Calcelmo thought about it for some time and told us: "Well, all right, you have also helped me before, so that might be acceptable. Maybe you could look into the excavation area for me? There's a giant spider in Nchuand-Zel. My workers call her 'Nimhe', the poisoned one. If you find out what happened to my assistant Alethius in there and deal with Nimhe, I'll gladly translate the journal for you; actually, I can get started on the translation right now. What do you say?"

I smiled and confirmed: "Calcelmo, my friend, we have a deal!"

Turning to M'lissa, I smirked: "I hope that you are not afraid of spiders, M'lissa?"

She snorted: "I would not have survived all of the dungeons, caves, and other dark and smelly places Mercer sent me to if I was!"

We accepted the key from the wizard and stepped into Nchuand-Zel. I conjured Pammy, my familiar, to scout ahead, and we carefully started examining the rooms. There was no tell tale of spiderwebs nearby, so that I assumed the spider must reside further ahead and probably down. After following a small passage, we reached a section which was still under excavation, and soon we came upon a few frostbite spiders. As they were normal sized, we were able to dispose of them without trouble. However, I now sensed that we were getting closer to our target and the real danger.

"Look, M'lissa" I started talking, "if we find a real big spider, our best approach may be to pull back into a small passage it cannot follow us in and shoot fireballs and arrows at the beast. T'mara and I have done something similar in another dungeon before, and it worked well. All right for you?"

M'lissa simply nodded, and we proceeded carefully. There was no apparent exit at the other side of the small hall, but some areas were tightly covered by spider webs. After blowing the webs away, another small passage became visible; it lead to a larger room with a high web covered ceiling, which immediately reminded me of a similar location in 'Bleak Falls Barrow'. And indeed, when we looked up, we noticed a giant spider about to drop down on us. Quickly we retreated into the passage, so that the huge spider missed us, and while M'lissa made use of her bow, I sent fireballs into the beast. The giant spider tried in vain to enter the passage, but it was too big to fit, and we kept enough distance to be able to dodge the streaks of venom the beast was ejecting in our direction. As it was not smart enough to retreat and wait for a better time, we could continue our attacks, and eventually the spider succumbed to our arrows and fireballs. We took a few moments to recover and then searched through the area. Close to a stone walkway we found a dead body. According to a journal we found on the corpse, this must have been Alethius, the assistant Calcelmo had mentioned. Behind the dead body, there were more webs covering a tight gap, and we saw that there was probably a way to go on. However, our current task was done, and we decided to return to Calcelmo with what we had found.

The old wizard was quite surprised to see us back that quickly, and he told us that the translation was not done yet. We handed over the journal and other belongings we had found on the corpse and confirmed that the giant spider was dead. "Come back in a few more hours", Calcelmo suggested, "and I should be done with the translation. If you want, we can sit together for dinner here in the Keep and talk some more than."

Both of us nodded politely and retreated for now. We spent a few hours strolling through the city and browsing the shops, and in the late afternoon we returned to the wizard. He smiled and handed over both the journal and the translation to us: "Here you are! The task was actually quite helpful to hone my Falmer language skills; after all, I do not encounter properly written Falmer text every day."

We thanked him and walked over to the Keep's living area for dinner. Faleen, Calcelmo's love and the Jarl's housecarl, also joined us, and we spend two happy hours talking, laughing, eating, and having a good time. Eventually, we took our leave and returned to Vlindrel Hall for the night.

At breakfast on the next morning we found out that Argis, my local housecarl, was also here in the house. He had returned very late last evening so that we had not noticed. He was happy to see me, and we chatted for some time before M'lissa joined us. I introduced them and told Argis that she was my wife's cousin and that T'mara was waiting for me in Winterhold, attending some lessons in magic.

While we had originally intended to start our return trip right away, Argis mentioned: "You know, I have become acquainted with Lisbet, the proprietor of 'Arnleif and Sons Trading Company'. She lost her husband to the Forsworn, and also a lot of her shipments. The last shipment included a very special statue of Dibella, and she really needs it back. Latest news say that the Forsworn who stole the shipment have retreated to 'Serpent's Bluff Redoubt'."

"What?" I exclaimed. "We cleared this place just a few months ago!"

"Indeed, my Thane", my housecarl confirmed. "Rumors claim that the Forsworn have reclaimed a place they had been driven out from, hoping that nobody would suspect this."

"What a shame. Is there something to be done about it?"

Argis nodded: "There is a bounty on retrieving the shipment, and I had planned to go for it. Alas, in order to clear a whole group of Forsworn, I'll need to have help, and I was about to search for some mercenaries to assist. Unless the two of you would …"

I briefly pondered this: "Well, the bluff is close to our way towards Whiterun. I guess that we could get there, retrieve the statue, send you back here with we find, walk on towards Whiterun or Rorikstead, and get a carriage from there. This would not make us lose more than one or two days, I guess. M'lissa, are you up for that?"

The Khajiit nodded right away: "Yes, I am. I have had my own encounters with the Forsworn in the past, and none of them were pleasant. Let's teach them another lesson and help poor Lisbet!"

This being said, we got onto the road right away once we had finished breakfast, and we turned east after the stables. We figured that we might be able to get to our target before dusk, if we walked steadily. Indeed, we had lunch along the riverside, close to the Shrine of Dibella and thus not far from 'Old Hroldan Inn'. While eating, I kindly recalled the nights I had spent there with my wife, not always sleeping, and the giant hickey I had received one time. Absent minded I wondered how I could return the favor, but with her smooth fur any kind of hickey would be barely visible, I was afraid. Well, I might be able to find other ways to annoy and 'torture' her.

Mid afternoon, after climbing up the hills, we got close to the target location, and similar to our last time I suggested that I would want to find a proper higher place to start shooting down into the camp first, and the two others should attack when the confusion was largest. I took a detour and found the same place I had used months ago; when I noticed that my two companions were ready, I released the first bolt from my crossbow and immediately made the second one ready. As I had targeted an isolated guard first, nobody had noticed the danger yet, and I managed to put another one down. This was noticed, but I still found a third one not moving much, and he paid for his mistake. Now the whole camp was in uproar, and shooting over a long distance was getting tricky. Rather I decided to send a few fireballs; even if they did not hit a Forsworn, they were likely to draw attention towards me. While I was lucky to actually hit one of the enemies with a fireball, everybody else now looked in my direction, but I was well hidden behind a large rock. M'lissa and Argis had already started to take advantage of the distraction and ran across the open area in the southeast of the camp, whereas I was north – consequently, nobody noticed them until they were close enough to also attack. M'lissa released her bow a few times, and while this made most Forsworn turn towards her direction, I successfully send two more bolts away. Before they had a chance to do much, the number of Forsworn was less than half of what it had been just minutes before, and now also Argis attacked with his big sword. This time, there was no Hagraven or Briarheart there, and the fight was over soon, with none of us except Argis even having a scratch. My housecarl's sword arm has quite a deep wound, which he had received from his last enemy. However, my healing spell fixed that without leaving much of a scar, so that we were soon all fit again.

We were fortunate, as we found a large chest with stolen goods, including the statue, right in the largest tent in the camp, so that there was no need to actually delve into the ruins. The fight had only taken a few minutes and dusk was still a few hours away, so that we decide to move on towards Rorikstead after a short break and packing the things we wanted to take. While walking in that direction, I wondered if we would also encounter a dragon in the same spot as last time, and indeed, just when the town was in sight, a loud roar could be heard. I almost could not believe the coincidence, but a dragon actually descended towards the southern section of the city, threatening the fields and the road. The distance was close enough for my crossbow, so that I started to deliver bolts as soon as I could, whereas M'lissa and Argis moved on to get closer. The dragon blew frost over a field, so that I switched my standard Dwemer bolts to those with additional fire effect, and this soon got the beast's attention. While it turned towards me, it made itself vulnerable for an attack from the flanks, and both Argis and M'lissa used this opportunity. Even without the benefit of Shouts, we managed to get the dragon down onto the road, and a few more mighty blows from Argis's sword and my final fireball killed it.

We looked around to check if anybody was injured, but except for some damage to the fields and some debris on the road we could not identify any issues. As we earned a rest now, we moved on to the local inn, where some of the locals talked to us and celebrated us. They were very grateful that we had arrived in time to kill the dragon before it could deal much damage to houses and fields.

One patron recalled the last time I was here: "Somehow I believe that I have seen you before, when you also killed dragon. Didn't you have a different female Khajiit with you last time?"

While nodding I replied: "Yes, indeed, you are correct. The Khajiit with me last time was my wife, and this one here is my wife's cousin. We came to the area to retrieve bandit loot from 'Serpent's Bluff Redoubt' and thus came here into town. We are glad that we arrived in time and could help!"

The innkeeper made sure we got the best dinner he was able to serve and we were not allowed to pay for dinner and also not for the rooms we booked for one night.

At breakfast on the next day M'lissa and myself separated from Argis. He was going to bring the statue and some other stuff back to Markarth, to deliver to the rightful owners, whereas the Khajiit and I wanted to get back to Winterhold as soon as we could. Fortunately, a carriage from Solitude had stopped here for the night on the way to Whiterun, and there was place for two more passengers; I paid the fare and we climbed aboard. While the other passengers got off at the Whiterun stables, I asked the driver where he intended to go next, and he said that he did not know yet.

I offered: "My companion and I need to get to Winterhold; could you maybe get us there tomorrow?"

The driver pondered this but replied: "You know, it is always difficult to find paying passengers for the way back from there."

I nodded and responded: "Yes, I know. Winterhold isn't what it used to be. Let's do this: If there are no passengers waiting in Winterhold for the ride back, I will pay for this as well – what do you think?"

The driver looked happy now: "Well, this is a generous offer – thank you, you've got yourselves a deal. Let's start tomorrow morning at sunrise."

I invited M'lissa to spend the night in the guest room in Breezehome, and after some talking and a quick supper we went to our respective rooms. As expected, we showed up at the stables before sunrise on the next day, and soon we were on our way to Winterhold again, where we arrived two days later in mid afternoon, after a night stop at 'Nightgate Inn' and a smooth ride without major interruptions.

In Winterhold, we first went into the inn to meet Enthir and Karliah again. They were happy that we managed to get the translation done, and they intended to continue their efforts to make things right in the Thieves Guild together with M'lissa; I wished them good luck for that. I was naturally eager to see my wife again and thus hurried up to the college as soon as I could manage. However, as I had kind of suspected, Mirabelle told me right away: "Tolfdir went to the ruins of Saarthal with the students a few days ago, as planned. Your wife is with them, and they are not expected back for a few more days. Tolfdir reiterated that you are welcome to join them, so that you might as well get over there."

Dusk was now close, and I did not feel like walking over the ice fields towards Saarthal on my own during the night, so that I decided to spend the night here. Before first light, though, I was up, had a quick breakfast, and got started. The first rays of sunlight greeted me when I turned west in the city of Winterhold and climbed up the hill, away from the ruins and towards the ice and snow, which covered almost all of the landscape around here. A beautiful vista opened before me, and I could even see the Statue of Azura to the South. Saarthal was not very far, but there was no real road, and progress was quite slow on the snow and ice. Pammy was happily running around and, so I guessed, looking forward to seeing Bran again.

Soon after I had left the city, clouds started to cover the sky, and about halfway to the ruins a light snowfall started. I was not really concerned yet, but the snowfall quickly migrated into a full blown blizzard soon after; visibility was reduced significantly, and I was not even close to Saarthal yet. Pammy should help me to not lose the way, I thought, but in addition a pack of hungry looking ice wolves picked that time to attack. I defended myself with fireballs and finally, when some of them got real close, with my big sword, and Pammy helped as well. When I just stepped aside after impaling the last of the wolf pack to catch my breath, I slipped on the ice and managed to hit my head on a rock. I saw stars and started to feel cold, when my vision went black and I lost consciousness.

_[Author's note: The cliffhanger at this point is intended – the next chapter will be coming soon]_


	36. Chapter 36 - Exploring Winterhold

**Chapter 36: Exploring Winterhold**

_[4__th__ – __9__th__of First Seed__4E 202]_

My first feelings when I woke were about warm touches and a soft glow, visible even through my almost fully closed eyelids. I vaguely recalled what had happened, and my head should really hurt a lot, but it did not; I just felt dizzy and exhausted. 'Have I died?' was my thought, before I fell asleep again.

Next time, when I was awake again, I was feeling much better, and managed to open my eyes, at least partially. The first thing I noticed was two animals sitting very close to me, and I soon recognized them to be Pammy and Bran. Wait a second – Bran? Before I had a chance to continue that thought further, a Khajiit stepped close, and it was indeed T'mara, my lovely wife. I noticed that I was sitting in the midst of a group of rocks sheltering me partially from the elements; the blizzard was gone, and the sun was shining brightly again, with sun rays reflecting on the ice and snow. I tried to utter a few words, and just managed to say something like "find you – go to Saarthal – blizzard – wolves – hit head on rock", but she understood.

She looked at me and explained: "A few days ago, I went to Saarthal with Tolfdir and the other students. A lot happened there, which I will tell later. Tolfdir sent me back with a message to the Arch-Mage, and half way back Bran found Pammy, and we found you unconscious with a big bump on your head. I guess that you had a major concussion, but a little bit of healing spell and a potion of major healing which I managed to feed you with should have mostly cured you."

After a little more rest I told her: "My head hurt a lot initially, but now almost all of the hurt is gone. Thank you for arriving at the right time and healing me!"

Rather then an answer I got a hot and long kiss, which probably contributed to my healing and well being as much as the potion before, and soon I claimed that I was now fit enough to move on. As T'mara was on her way to the college anyway, we decided to head there and slowly walk up the slope I had come down a few hours before, with Pammy and Bran happily running circles around us.

Back at the College of Winterhold, T'mara went straight up to the Arch-Mage's quarters, whereas I looked for Colette Marence, Master of Restoration magic; I wanted her to look at my head to make sure the concussion and injury were fully healed. Fortunately, she could confirm this and told me that a little bump remained, but would be gone a few days later.

Later, when T'mara and I were back in our room and about to retire to our bed, she told me about her adventures in Saarthal:

"Our time there started kind of boring, as Tolfdir gave all of us small tasks. I was supposed to look for small items of potential value and hand them over to Arniel Gane, who was categorizing them. When I found a small shiny amulet and attempted to take it from its place in the wall, a gate dropped down and separated me from the others. Tolfdir had been close and, as we could not find out how to raise the gate again, suggested to equip the amulet and then cast a minor spell against the place where it had been, and this worked – not only was the gate opened, but also a previously hidden passage was revealed and opened.

Master Tolfdir and I both went through it to investigate, and after defeating some draugrs, traps, and puzzles we finally encountered a larger room with a very odd orb, guarded by some kind of dragon priest. It took our best efforts and quite some time to kill the guy, and Tolfdir did not really know what that orb was good for – he sent me back to the college to inform the Arch-Mage, and I found you on my way back. I believe that the Arch-Mage plans to get the orb back to the college for further examinations.

And, I almost forgot to mention: At some time, before getting to the orb, a strange guy materialized close to me. It appeared that he had kind of stopped the flow of time, and Tolfdir, who was standing next to, seemed frozen and never say the guy. The stranger claimed to be a member of the 'Psijic Order' and introduced himself as Quaranir, and he came to warn me about important events about to happen, without going into detail. I have to admit that I do not really know what we was talking about.

Oh, and one more detail: I found another word wall and learned a shout called 'Ice Form'!"

All of this information got my head dizzy a little bit again; I leaned back into the pillows, and before I noticed I was asleep.

Fortunately, I felt fully alive and rested again one day later after a long and restful sleep. Following the recent events, my wife and I agreed to skip major activities for a few days; rather, we wanted to make some progress in our magical skills. T'mara was not further involved in the examination of the strange orb Tolfdir and herself had found deep under Saarthal, and we could afford to attend a few lectures. Most specifically, both of us wanted to improve on our restoration skill and improve our healing capabilities. If T'mara was going to be fighting against more dragons in future, fast and good healing was going to be critical, and we should both be able to heal ourselves and others properly and quickly.

As it happened, Colette had a few training sessions running, and we gladly joined. She also used the opportunity to introduce us to some other students we had not met before: "The Redguard lady over there is Yisra, who has been with us for more than a year; she likes to experiment with Flame Cloak spells. The Argonian over there is Ilas-Tei, and he wants to focus and Illusion spells. The third one, the Nord, is called Rundi, and he has started to specialize in frost magic. All three of them also want to improve on Restoration magic in parallel to their main focus areas."

After the introduction, she advised us to not hurt ourselves just to be able to practice healing spells; rather she pointed out: "As you know, magical capabilities are grouped into categories. While that combination of specific spells in a specific category may not always appears to be logical, wizards have learned a long time ago that one can increase one's capability and proficiency of casting all spells in such a category by practicing any of them. While the learning speed varies a lot, the principle always works. For instance, in the group of restoration spells, one can increase power and duration of a healing spell by using ward spells a lot. This appears to be illogical, but it works. Does somebody know another such example?"

Yisra suggested: "For improving an 'Oakflesh' or 'Stoneflesh' spell in the Alteration category, one should be able to cast a light spell repeatedly, correct?"

The wizard nodded and confirmed: "Yes, absolutely correct. Getting back to the Restoration spells, those of you who attend Tolfdir's classes in Destruction magic a lot have a head start. My colleague of course needs to make sure nobody is hurt by practicing, for example, fire balls, and thus he makes sure that everybody can raise reliable wards. As wards are part of the Restoration school of magic, students in Tolfdir's Destruction classes usually are at least moderately good in Restoration, maybe without even being aware of it."

After a brief pause she continued: "Don't ask me why that scheme with the categories works like it does. Wizards centuries ago have spent quite some effort finding out about it, but nobody so far has been able to tell why it does, at least according to my knowledge."

Rundi had a question: "About the healing itself – how do we know what to do exactly, like where to put pour hands? For healing either oneself or another person, does this require to know where the injury is located or what is damaged or does the spell work just by itself?"

Colette smiled: "Very good question, indeed. First, a good healing spell does have some positive effect independent on which part of the body it is cast. Second, if you know which body part is injured and move your hand close to it while casting, the efficiency of the spell will be better. For instance, if you got hurt in a fight and want to heal yourself, you may be quite dizzy at first and not know initially where your injuries are. You can cast a healing spell on yourself in general like close to your head or your heart, which may improve your health to a point which allows you to analyze your body in more detail for a second healing spell to be cast close to where the major injuries are. Related to that, you will also learn in my class about body parts and typical injuries, to help you in guiding your healing."

Some of that, I had to admit to myself, was news to me, too, and I was glad that I was at the college and attending my colleague's class. When I had been at the college first, I had focused more on destruction and restoration in general, but no paid attention to details like that. My wife was quite focused and clearly interested, too.

This same evening when we were in our bed again, I smiled and teased T'mara: "I wonder if we should practice those healing spells a little more. I mean, we could both make an effort to cause some big hickeys on each other and afterwards make sure to heal them properly – wouldn't that be a good exercise?"

She turned around and looked at me: "That's what I get after being separated from you for more than a week and then having to rescue you, too. What about chasing you around the college a few times until your muscles are sore and healing them instead? Or maybe just an old fashioned beating?"

We both started to laugh and could not stop for quite some time.

While my wife wanted to attend more lessons for a few days, I decided to pay a visit to the Jarl of Winterhold. After all, we were going to stay here for quite some time, and I had heard that the Jarl was not exactly a friend of the College – I wanted to find out more.

Thus, I walked into town in the later morning and entered the Jarl's longhouse. When I got close to the throne, Jarl Korir asked:

"What's your business here in Winterhold?"

"I'm here for the College."

"Should've known. Not that it matters anymore. No one bothers coming to Winterhold for any other reason."

"You have a problem with the College?"

"I do, and if you count yourself among their numbers then you've blood on your hands as well. There's nothing left of Winterhold. Nothing! Everyone knows it's the College's fault that the sea swallowed our city. Still they deny it, but we all know the truth."

"What's wrong with the College?"

"Look around you. Winterhold is in this state because of those damned mages. They sit up there in their tower, doing gods-know-what, and who watches over them? The guards don't even dare go up there unless they've no choice."

"Does it matter?"

"It does. The College has caused enough problems; we don't need you or anyone else adding to them. If you're not here for the College, then you've little other reason to be in Winterhold at all."

It was pretty obvious that Jarl held the college and its inhabitants at least partially responsible for what had happened to the city. When cautiously asking the Jarl about work which might have to be done, he indicated that he would always look kindly upon those who helped his citizens, without going into details. I took my leave and decide to stroll around for a while and see what I could do. I did not really intend to do the Jarl lots of favors, but maybe there was a chance to improve relations between him and the college a little bit at least. Not many people were on the road, so that I eventually got into the inn, 'The Frozen Hearth'. Contrary to the inn's name, the fire inside was not frozen at all, although it had a hard time warming up the big tap room.

Stepping close to the bar I overheard the innkeeper, Haran, talking to a customer. The customer looked somewhat drunk already, considering that noon time had not yet arrived, and it looked like he owed her some money: I could hear the innkeeper talk to her husband:

"How long are we going to let Ranmir drink himself into a stupor? When will enough be enough?"

"As long as he keeps paying, I suppose. He keeps to himself and doesn't hurt anyone."

"Are you sure of that? I think Birna might disagree with you. Also, I believe that he has not paid for his last few drinks."

When I addressed her, she sighed: "Ranmir beg a drink from you, yet? That's gold wasted, friend."

Well, I could at least try to help, and turned around to face Ranmir; before I could say something, he looked at me and stated:

"Unless you're bringing me another round, you can just keep walking."

"Well, I guess that you had enough drinks already. Considering that you seem to owe some money for past drinks to the innkeeper, why don't you pay first?"

Clearly he did not like my request and replied unhappily: "Who are you to say what I should do? I'll pay her back when I'm ready."

I did my best to look intimidating, which was not so extremely difficult considering my size, looked down at him sternly, and told him in my best and intimidating Thane voice: "Do it, or things might get ugly!"

He was now very quick to state: "Calm down there, friend. I'll pay! Tell Haran that she'll have her gold."

I replied: "That's what I wanted to hear. Make sure not to forget about it!"

Turning around to the innkeeper, I told her that Ranmir would pay and ordered a glass of milk for myself. While I was drinking, her daughter Eirid came to talk, and she told me without being prompted: "Assur says his pa says the mages at the College make everything bad happen, but to me they seem nice."

Addressing her I asked: "And who would Assur be?"

She told me that Assur was the Jarl's son, and he claimed to know everything around town. Eirid then also asked: "Assur claims that the college teaches you how to kill people with magic. Is that true?"

I was careful to reply to that one: "Eirid, not really. It is true that we practice all kind of magic in the college, which does include destruction spells. In reality, those spells are mostly used to defend ourselves against animals, such as snow bears and ice wolves. Occasionally, though, like when attacked by bandits and highwaymen, we are forced to use those spells also to hurt and potentially kill people, but only in self defense."

Haran's husband, Dagur, stepped close now and commented: "Unlike some folks here in town, we have nothing against the College or the people that come and go."

I was happy to see that not all of Winterhold's citizens had an aversion against the college and mages, at least.

Eirid had something more to say: "The mages don't let us go in the College. They said it's not safe in there."

I told her: "Well, they are right about that. The college is inhabited my mages only, and by those who study magic and can prove that they have at least a basic affinity for it. But we also have a couple of Nord students. Maybe one of the students can meet you at some time in the future and have a chat with you."

At that time I was done with drinking my milk, took my leave and stepped outside again, into the bright sunshine. Before I had a chance to enjoy the sunshine, though, clouds started to cover the sun, and I expected a trademark snowstorm to be raging within an hour or two. Not really a surprise here at all, though.

While the first snowflakes were starting to settle down, I decided to spend some time in the only real shop they had here, 'Birna's Oddments'. The owner, a Nord of course, did not have other customers at this time and appreciated the opportunity to chat: "I'll sell just about anything, if it's worth my time. Keep that in mind, will you?"

I nodded and asked if was also going to buy items. I was expecting to some dungeon delving from time to time and thus wondered if this place was going to buy some of the loot. Birna was cautious, but told me: "If it's worth putting a price on, you can bet I'll do it. I've made a few bad deals. Been burned a few times. But mostly, I come out on top."

This was what I wanted to hear, and I smiled at her: "That's good to hear. I will make sure to come back when I got something to sell, and I will not request unreasonable payment. By the way, I was in the inn a couple of hours ago, and I met the innkeepers and a drunk called Ranmir. When the innkeepers talked about Ranmir, they mentioned your name; is he by chance related to you?"

Birna sighed and reluctantly admitted: "He is my brother. Ranmir's a good for nothing drunk. We would have lost the house by now if it were up to him. Most of the time he's either passed out in bed, or working on winding up that way."

I nodded and added: "Well, in the inn, I talked him into paying his debt to the innkeepers. I may have intimidated him a little. If he much trouble again in future, just let me know, and I'll have another word with him?"

Birna almost could not believe: "How did you do that? And I can really contact you to help dealing with him?"

I confirmed: "Yes, you can – I currently live at the college, and the mages there know me. As a matter of fact, I am a wizard myself."

"Well", she replied, "you probably know that most people in this town do not like the college and its inhabitants much. However, I may want to change my attitude, seeing that a mage is actually good for something."

When I got out of the shop, a full snowstorm was raging once again, so that I was looking for an opportunity to get into another building. Of course there were not many intact buildings left in the city, and I noticed a house in quite good condition right next to Birna's shop. On a hunch I knocked at the door, and it was opened quickly. A friendly looking Nord asked me to come inside, which I did, and when he heard that I was a mage, he beamed and told me: "The College of Winterhold is truly an asset to our city... err, town. I have a very close relationship with Savos Aren, the current Arch-Mage."

Surprised I looked at him: "You do? That's good to hear. I am happy to encounter somebody who does not despise the college here in this location. Of course, not so many people live here any longer, and it's a shame that nobody really makes an effort to restore at least part of the former glory Winterhold once had."

He liked what I said: "I'd like nothing more than to see Winterhold regain its former glory. It's hard to recover from something like the Great Collapse, but I believe Winterhold can do it."

Kraldar's servant confirmed: "Kraldar has big plans for Winterhold. We'd be better off if he was in charge."

I nodded and replied: "I am very glad that I found this house and its inhabitants. I really enjoyed talking to you, and I am sure that we will meet again. Thank you for your hospitality, and Good Bye for now!"

Outside the snowstorm had abated a little. I felt like I had done enough for today and slowly walked back towards the college. Actually thinking about my day's work, I suddenly became aware that I had already visited all of the major buildings in the city today. There was the Jarl's longhouse, the inn, the shop, and Kaldar's house, and if there another fully intact building around, I had either missed it or it was more distant from the 'city center'. There were a few guards around, but they probably had a room to sleep in the longhouse, as I had not seen any kind of barracks. In addition, I had also not seen a blacksmith, and thus I wondered who was going to take care of smithing around here. This place was really nothing compared to its former glory, and I wondered if Kaldar was right and something could be done about it.

When I entered the college grounds, still deep in my thoughts, I suddenly noticed a person coming quickly at me from the side; while I recognized my wife, I was already hugged by her and felt her teeth cutting deep into my shoulder. Totally surprised I yelled; she stepped back and smiled: "Wasn't it your suggestion to bite each other and practice healing spells? Now hold still and let me heal you!"

I sighed and knew that she was right, and indeed she managed to heal me quite nicely. Naturally, later on when we were in bed, I could not resist the temptation to tease her a little: "As you started the biting business, I am really curious about something."

"What would that be?" she replied.

"Well, with my skin and your sharp teeth, it is quite easy to mark me with a hickey", I started while she smiled and grinned. "I wonder", I continued, "how it might be possible to mark you with a visible hickey, considering my smaller teeth and your fur, which mostly covers your skin. I guess that I need to try hard to find out!"

Her facial expression had changed considerably at my last words, and she hissed "You would not dare!"

However, before she got a chance to come up with any reason why I should rather not go in that direction, I was already over her. Let's just say that we had quite some fun this night, and a few times I used my own healing spells on her. As it was night and I did not have Khajiit night eyes, I was unable to find out if my experiments were successful, though. But anyway the night confirmed that having a Khajiit wife was really great and enjoyable.

_[Author's Note: I took the liberty to introduce three more students by using names, races, and some more data from the 'missing students' as documented on related webpages, as I thought the college should really have more than just three students]_


	37. Chapter 37 - A welcome distraction

**Chapter 37: A welcome distraction**

_[10__th__ – __18__th__of First Seed__4E 202]_

A few days later T'mara admitted that she was getting somewhat tired of learning and practicing spells and was looking forward to getting distracted; maybe I knew about a little adventure around, she asked me? I did have some ideas, but before I could start to make specific suggestions, we learned that we had a visitor – Ria from the Companions. We were told that she was waiting for us outside of the college grounds, and we quickly went there to meet her. As there was snow coming down again, as usual for Winterhold, the three of us quickly decided to hurry into the cozy local inn to talk. While we had milk and mead, T'mara and I asked Ria what brought her to this remote area, and she excitedly told us:

"Well, of course we are all curious how you two are doing and how married life suits you. We, that is Aela, have received a task to clear a location from wild animals, and that location happens to be in this hold. Knowing that you would be here at the college, Aela asked for volunteers to travel to the city of Winterhold, find the two of you, and ask you to assist me in doing the quest. You know that we almost never do quests alone, so that we were hoping that you could find the time to do this with me for a few days. And, in addition to that, I have really missed both of you!"

T'mara smiled happily and replied: "We have been missing you and the Companions, too, my dear Ria. Just this morning I have told my husband that I am slowly getting bored from all of the learning and spell casting, and that I am looking forward to finding a distraction. This is perfect timing – where are we supposed to go to?"

Ria looked relieved and happy to hear that: "The place is called 'Bleakcoast Cave', and it is located on an island off the coast east of here. We should be able to travel there in not more than one day, so that the total travel time should be not more than three days, I should think."

I looked at my wife, smiled, and suggested tentatively: "Maybe you would like to do this with Ria and I get back to my learning?"

She looked at me and sternly responded: "Oh no, you don't – you are going as well. Both of us need the exercise, and remember what happened last time you did something on your own!"

I responded with the only possible answer: "Yes, dear", and that was settled.

Ria got a room at the inn for the night, and we agreed to meet again next morning at sunrise. Of course, the next day started with snowfall rather than sunshine, but that was not really a surprise here in Winterhold. We were all properly dressed and had had a good breakfast after a sound sleep, so that we were full of energy and could soon walk off in southeasterly direction. After consulting the map on the day before, we had decided to follow the road to the area of 'Whistling Mine', turn left towards 'Journeyman's Nook' and find a way down to the coast from there. The small island we needed to get to should be right across, and maybe some ice floats would help us to get over there without getting wet.

After a brisk walk we reached the mine later in the morning. We met Thorgar, the mine's owner and foreman, and we were told that the miners were working hard, but had failed yet to find something really valuable. We wished them good luck and turned left as we had planned, and not quite one hour later we reached the nook. When we approached, a man in fur armor got out and immediately started to attack us with his war axe. Ria was ahead and killed him swiftly with her sword. T'mara shook her head: "You know, some bandits are really crazy. They see three strong warriors approaching, but rather than surrendering or running away or hiding they bluntly attack against all odds – I don't get it!"

I could not resist the temptation to tease her: "Not sure about that; maybe he looked at you and thought you are a pussy cat, and I am walking you?"

My wife looked at me and just shook her head again; while she tried to look annoyed, I could hear her chuckling and mumbling: "I will show you about the pussy cat when we are in our bedroll tonight..." - and now it was my turn to chuckle.

We decided to take a break here in the nook, as the interior provided some shelter from the wind and snow. Inside we found a corpse, and we assumed that the bandit might have been responsible for the kill. Searching the corpse we noticed three iron arrows in the back and a dagger close to his hand, and according to some papers we found this was Borvir, who used to be a student at the college.

T'mara put in: "Wasn't there a bulletin in the college lately about missing students? Maybe this is one of them?"

I replied: "Yes, this is possible. We should mention it to Tolfdir when we get back."

We also found a little bit of loot, a skill book, and a treasure map. While eating lunch from our supplies, we looked at the map we had found and tried to figure out what it showed. We failed to make sense of it for some time, when Ria had an idea: "You know, those structures could be the Valtheim towers, and the water in front might be the waterfall on the east side – what do you think?"

I nodded and told her: "Yes, you may be right about that. As this is close to Whiterun, why don't you take the map, and next time you are in the area, you can go looking for the treasure. If you find something valuable, it can be shared among the Companions."

Ria nodded and stowed the map in her backpack, and when we were done we stepped outside again. Soon we found a narrow and steep trail leading down to the coast which we followed. When we were down at sea level, we encountered a few horkers, and T'mara noticed a small chest which was barely visible in a small niche behind the horkers. As we were curious what was in there but did not want to kill the horkers, I pretended to attack the animals, which made them all move in my direction; when I had lured them away from the niche, I simply ran away from the slow moving animals. T'mara picked the lock and got the contents out, and we met again at the coast. The chest had had only another skill book in it.

T'mara looked at me: "Another skill book. How come that we can find items like this in the wilderness? Is there somebody walking around putting loot into chests so that explorers like us can find it?"

I shook my head: "I do not know. Maybe part of that is bandits storing loot and forgetting about it. But again, this is Skyrim for you."

As we had reached the coast and the horkers had calmed down and were back at their resting place, we looked around and indeed saw the island which supposedly was our goal quite close, just a few hundred meters away. Between the island and us, though, there was clear and very cold water, and we did not really feel like swimming through it. While we were pondering our options, T'mara pointed east and said: "Look over there – there seems to be a small ice field which might help us – let's have a look and find out if we can get across there!"

We walked over and indeed found a field of ice which looked like it might allow us to get to the island without swimming. It took us a few attempts to find the proper path, but we finally succeeded and stepped on the island, close to our target cave. Wildlife was peculiarly scarce on the island; no horkers lingered on the ground, no snow foxes and ice wolves were visible, and even the birds and insects seemed to avoid the area – a clear sign of impending danger. As the sun was still up and we were still quite awake and fit, we decided to enter the cave right away. Of course, we would need to be very cautious as we had not been told what kind of beasts were likely to wait for us. The companions had only been told that the cave was infested, including one really dangerous animal. Well, the three of us should be able to handle that, I guessed.

After the entrance, the passage narrowed, and after a few bends it opened up into a larger hall. Naturally, we did not enter the hall right away but looked around cautiously while sneaking. There was a smell in the air none of us could identify. Right in the hall we could soon see a number of frost trolls, and a few corpses were on the ground. We attacked the trolls simultaneously with fireballs and T'mara's 'YOL' shout, and they were down before they had a chance to get real close to us. In a smaller room to the west we found more corpses and another Skill book. Back in the main hall we looked around and found another passage leading to the north; it opened up into a smaller hall, and when we peeked into it, we saw a huge strange animal none of us had seen in Skyrim before. It appeared to be a big white furred predator and looked quite dangerous; it was standing next to a skeleton which was suspended upside down from the ceiling, with the legs encased in the ice. Before we could ponder the situation further, the beast must have spotted or smelled us and turned around, opening its massive jaws in a threatening way, and we did not hesitate to attack. Same as before, we used fireballs, which obviously hurt the animal, but it it still ran towards us. Not sure how strong it was we decided upon a tactical retreat and returned through the passage. While the passage was a tight fit for the beast, it managed to squeeze through, but I had used the time to load my crossbow with a bolt of exploding fire. Just as the beast entered the main hall, I shot and reloaded right away. My first hit staggered it, so that I had time for a second one, and now the animal was clearly injured and slowed down, which gave my companions time to attack from the side. Ria, though, was not keeping enough distance and got hit by the ferocious claws. She went down, apparently unconscious, but I was able to distract the beast with another bolt, and my wife could now deliver another fire shout. Even that was not good enough to bring it down, so that I finally got my huge greatsword out and delivered the final blow.

While I made sure that the animal was really dead, T'mara ran over to where Ria was on the ground and started to check her wounds. "Timotheus", she said, "I guess that this is a perfect opportunity to practice our healing spells, as I believe that she is gravely injured. I will start the healing and you can take over when my magicka is exhausted."

I nodded and she started to cast right away. As we had been taught, T'mara first applied some healing to head and chest to improve the general condition and heart and brain activity, and then moved to the areas which showed the worst injuries. Some minutes later her magicka was down and I took over, focusing on her left leg which appeared to be broken. I was not fully sure if the bones were all in place, and T'mara helped to check; when we were reasonably sure I applied my healing spell mostly to the leg. When my magicka was also down, Ria woke up, and we fed her a healing and a stamina potion to support the recovery. We also spread our sleeping bags to find some rest while Pammy and Bran was guarding. Our two animal companions had not been able to help us against the beast, as it had been too large and intimidating for them to attack; even my Pammy had been reluctant to attack.

After a restful sleep we first checked Ria's condition, and we were happy to see that she looked much better again. We again applied some healing spells to her remaining wounds, and she declared that she was almost fit again. We left Pammy and Bran with her and moved on to investigate the remaining parts of the cave. We found another Skill book, a few coin purses, and a satchel. Finally, when looking at the corpse which was mysteriously suspended from the ceiling, we found a small diary. It did not tell much, but claimed that the person had been in pursuit of a beast he or she called a 'wampa'. The vague description of that 'wampa' matched the beast we had slain, and we could only assume that the beast had won the fight against the hunter. I really hoped that the beast did not have a mate around somewhere close.

With Ria still being a little weak, we decided to find a different way back to the college, by hiking along the coast until we found a path leading up further on. However, when stepping out of the cave, our attention was distracted by a fight going on not far away. A dragon was apparently attacking a group of people with fireballs; getting closer cautiously we noticed that the people were vampires, and there were enough of them to eventually kill the dragon. T'mara was close enough to absorb the soul, even as she had not been involved in the fight, and this got the remaining vampires' attention. There were three of them left 'alive', and one of them seemed to be a powerful vampire lord. Bran and Pammy ran ahead right away and engaged a vampire standing to the side, and the three of us focused on the other two. Knowing a vampire's weakness for fire we basically used the same approach we had used against the beast in the cave, with me shooting bolts of exploding fire with my crossbow, T'mara shouting 'YOL' followed by fireball spells, and Ria joining in with her bow. While this worked fine against the minor vampire, the powerful one managed to dodge most of the shots and came closer faster than we liked. I finally had to throw my crossbow aside and get my greatsword ready, and it turned out that I had to work real hard to keep the vampire away from my neck. However, the vampire lord had not noticed that I was able to yield the greatsword with one hand and thus had the left hand free – I used the chance to load my most powerful fireblast spell and shot it right into the vampire's chest. While this did not kill, it staggered, and the vampire was shocked for a few seconds. While I recovered and had to catch my breath, Ria was approaching behind the vampire's back and swiftly separated the monster's head from the body with her sword. We looked at each other and smiled, and I told her: "Excellent work, Ria!",

Looking around we noticed that T'mara had finished off the third vampire while it was distracted by Bran and Pammy, and the fight was over. We did not find valuable loot on the bodies, but hidden close by there was another treasure map; maybe we could figure it out during lunch break later on, but for now we were eager to start the trip back. While walking Ria asked: "How come that vampires were out in the open during the day? Don't they usually operate at night only, to avoid getting hurt by the sun?"

I looked at her thoughtfully and responded: "Yes, they normally do, as far as I know. However, with a full cloud cover and snow falling, the sun is not going to hurt them much, and it is conceivable that they were just about to move from their lair to the cave we were in when they were attacked by the dragon."

Ria nodded, and we walked on. In a niche we found another Skill book, and we tried out best to avoid the many horkers, as we did not see a need to antagonize them without need. Proceeding northwest we walked past a few ore veins, and mid afternoon we passed under the bridge leading from the city of Winterhold to the college. Right there the cliffs were too steep to ascend, and we moved on. One hour later we found a path leading south and later on southeast, leading upwards, and before the sun was down we managed to enter the city of Winterhold on the north side. Naturally we first delivered Ria to the inn and made sure that she had a few healing and stamina potions with her if needed for final recovery. We sat together in the taproom for a nice dinner to refresh our energies. When Haran, the innkeeper, noticed T'mara and me, she got us two jugs of milk without being asked. While her facial expression made clear that she did not really like our taste, she apparently got used to it. Maybe, with time, we might be able to convince her that drinking milk was not related at all to being weak, as we had been able to convince Wilhelm, the innkeeper in Ivarstead.

Ranmir, Birna's brother, was around again, and drunk as usual. However, I was told by Haran that he had actually paid for his drinks and that she had heard from Birna that he was now doing some work during the day. Dagur, the innkeeper, felt inclined to add a few more details to Ranmir's background:

"See, Ranmir was involved with a pretty young woman named Isabelle Rolaine. The two of them were very happy together, I thought. One day, she just disappeared. Ranmir was convinced she'd run off with someone else, leaving him behind. He turned to drinking, and what's left of him is what you see here every day."

After a break he went on:

"I hoped that maybe if she could be found, if he had some sort of explanation, that maybe he could put himself back together. I'm in no position to go searching for her, but perhaps you could, if you can find the time?"

T'mara and I nodded, promising to keep that in mind. Haran, Ragnur's wife, added that we might be able to get more hints from a woman called 'Vex' in Riften.

Later on, Ranmir was also listening when we told the story of the beast we found in the cave and that the note had claimed it was called a 'wampa'. Ranmir raised his head: "A 'wampa', you say? This might have been one of the beasts I had encountered on a planet called 'Hoth' when I was young and looking for adventures. But it was too cold there to stay long, even colder than here in Skyrim, so that I much prefer to be here."

Confused by his words I looked at him and asked: "What do you mean by 'a planet'?"

Ranmir looked up again: "I do not know – have I really said that?"

T'mara confirmed, but Ranmir was too drunk to provide further information. I guess that he had been just fantasizing while being drunk. A place being colder than Winterhold in Skyrim? Hard to imagine!

_[Author's note: I could not resist the temptation to extend the Easter Egg in Bleakcoast Cave a little further]_


	38. Chapter 38 - The White Phial

**Chapter 38: The White Phial**

_[19__th__ – __23__rd__of First Seed__4E 202]_

Next morning we slept in, and when T'mara was awake, she looked deep into my eyes and commented with an alluring and purring voice: "Was I able to demonstrate sufficiently last night what special kind of a pussy cat I am?"

Recalling the activities we had engaged in the night before in bed, I smiled and hugged her and happily confirmed: "Oh yes, indeed! But now I believe its time for breakfast."

We met Tolfdir at breakfast and mentioned the remains we had found at 'Journeyman's Nook', supposedly belonging to a former student of the college called Borvir. Tolfdir looked concerned and commented: "Yes, about a year ago or so we had sent him and a few other students out for an excursion. When they failed to return after several weeks some of us went looking for them, but did not find a clue; we probably looked in the wrong direction. Maybe we did a mistake by not sending a wizard or maybe a mercenary with them. We had been hoping that they would join forces and learn how to work together as a team, but obviously this has not worked. You have not seen any remains from the others by chance?"

I shook my head and said that we had indeed only seen references to Borvir, but not the other missing students. Urag gro-Shub, the Orc librarian, also joined us for breakfast and mentioned that he was looking for some special books:

"Have you ever heard of Shalidor? He was an immensely powerful mage, back in the First Era. Had an understanding of magic few have ever matched. He holed himself up in Labyrinthian, and devoted all of his time to research and study. Wrote more than you could imagine possible. Since then, his writings have been scattered all over Skyrim, but are little use to anyone who can't translate them. I'm one of the few who can. I've heard whispers of more of his works having turned up, most likely in a place called 'Forsaken Cave'. If you can track it down, it may prove useful to us."

I replied: 'Isn't that cave close to Nightgate Inn in Heljarchen, south of here?"

T'mara had our map out and soon confirmed that our target was indeed located there. I was thinking about going together with Ria, as she would have to travel in that direction anyway on her way back to Whiterun, and I decided to bring up the idea when we met Ria today.

As a matter of fact we went out to see her after breakfast, and we placed ourselves around a table in the inn. "When do you plan to travel home again, Ria?" I asked her.

"Well", she responded, "I feel quite fine again, and I guess that I can start the journey home tomorrow, if you do not mind; ideally I might hop on a carriage."

"It may be difficult to find a carriage here in Winterhold" I commented. "T'mara and I have potential business in a cave close to Nightgate Inn, and I wonder if you would like to join us for another quest. Once this is done, you're halfway to Whiterun already and we can return here. What do you think?"

She smiled and nodded: "Yes, I would like that. Let's start tomorrow morning?"

I looked at T'mara, and she nodded as well: "Yes, let's do it. We can be at the inn before dusk and enter the cave fully rested day after tomorrow."

We spent some more time showing Ria around town and introducing her to Brina, the shopkeeper. Ria was able to sell most of the loot we had acquired recently. We spent the afternoon with some more spellcasting training and finally went to bed early to be prepared for our trip the next day.

While we started off in the morning with a minor snowstorm as usual, we were lucky, as the storm abated soon, and once we had passed 'Whistling Mine', the sun started to come up and warm us up. We quickly moved forward until we got close to 'Fort Kastav'. We were not sure if the fort was occupied by regular troops and thus approached cautiously. T'mara, with her Khajiit eyes, soon noticed that the people she could see were clearly not soldiers, but looked more like conjurers and necromancers. For today we decided to focus on our current quest and try to sneak around the fort. This was not exactly an easy task as the main road passed close to the fort, but fortunately we could soon hear a faint call for lunch from within the fort, and most guards disappeared from the walls and balustrades. We took advantage of that and actually managed to sneak around the fortification without being noticed. As soon as were out of sight we sat down to have our own lunch and rest a little.

As we had walked quite fast for most of the day, we reached the inn mid afternoon, earlier than planned. Hadring, the innkeeper, had two rooms available which we took and paid for two nights, and we also ordered dinner. While waiting for our meal, I asked Hadring for rumors and news of the area, and he was happy to provide some, when I started to ask:

"What can you tell me about the inn?"

"This old place? Been here forever. Built by my great grandda. Run by him, then all the way up the line to me."

"Do you get a lot of business?"

"Nah, not so much. The odd traveler on the road. But mostly just old Fultheim, come to drink away a lifetime of bad memories, I'd wager. Course there's the Orc. Long-term tenant, that one. For what he pays, I could afford to shut this place down."

"Heard any rumors lately?"

"Have you seen that Shrine of Azura? They say the dark elves built it after they fled from Morrowind. Sight to see. Got to take care of your dinner now; anything you need, just holler."

Actually, yes, we had seen the shrine, as it was not so far from Winterhold, but we had not made the trip yet. Soon we enjoyed our dinner and retired to our rooms.

The next morning saw us walking briskly towards our target, 'Forsaken Cave'. The entrance seemed to be guarded by a couple of flame atronachs, and I briefly wondered how those creatures managed to survive in the cold. Well, naturally we attacked with frost blasts, and before the two atronachs had a chance to properly retaliate, they were defeated and only left a few fire salts to collect.

Once inside the cave, we found that we were mostly moving through ice caverns and passages, at least at the beginning. The paths were flanked by lots of urns, but few creatures and enemies, and progress was good; a few draugrs and a couple of trolls could barely slow us down. After following a number of winding passages, defeating a now increasing number of draugrs and disabling or circumventing a few traps, we found ourselves entering a new area. According to a barely readable sign this was 'Forsaken Crypt'. Although the name was not really encouraging – why couldn't we find some places being called 'Cavern of Joy' or 'Mine of Relaxation' or so for a change? – we proceeded nonetheless.

The first part of the crypt was easy, and we found a few potions to collect. The next catacomb area sported a number of draugrs, and we needed to be a little more careful. Ria wanted to improve on her sneaking and asked to take the lead. She actually managed to hit a few draugrs with arrows before being detected, but a draugr overlord was too strong and powerful for her; it soon detected her and hit her badly before we managed to help. T'mara killed the draugr with a shout, and I worked my healing spell on Ria. It was good thing that we had had some practice in restoration, because I had almost exhausted my magicka before Ria was all right again. "Good thing that I need the practice to improve my healing" I joked.

We fed a healing potion and a stamina potion to Ria to fully restore her to perfect condition, and after a quick rest she was good to go again. For the next part we sent Bran and Pammy ahead, until we reached a series of swinging blades. T'mara managed to squeeze through and disable them from the other side, and we proceeded carefully. The next room was a larger one again, and a stone sarcophagus was placed in a prominent location, with a number of draugrs resting against the walls. I whispered to my companions: "Not sure about that, but this looks like a 'boss room' to me – let's be careful!"

While we were still outside of the room, I shot a bolt at one of the lifeless draugr standing at the walls, which managed to bring it to live; my next shot killed it off. I managed to do the same with a couple of other draugrs, but finally the center sarcophagus opened with a burst and a dragon priest came out. Ria had not seen one of those before, but T'mara and I had. The dragon priest looked around and initially failed to see us, as we were hidden outside of the room. When he was looking in another direction, I hit him with a bolt and he turned around suddenly, slowly moving towards us. To make the situation worse, the few remaining draugrs were now also fully awake and started to attack as well.

T'mara suddenly had a bright idea: "Let's go back through the swinging blades and see how they deal with it!"

I agreed right away, and Ria and I were running back rapidly, taking Bran and Pammy with us. When we had passed the critical area, T'mara activated the blades with the lever and jumped through again with perfect timing. Of course the draugrs could have simply disabled the blades again, but I doubted that they were smart enough for that. Indeed they were not; the dragon priest tried to send frost blasts through the blades a couple of times, but none of them reached us; eventually it decided to proceed by slowly walking forward, and soon the blades cut into his body. As suspected, this guy was not killed easily, but when it stepped out on our side, it was stumbling and obviously hurt a lot. We blasted fire at it from two sides, and the dragon priest collapsed. The other draugrs were all cut down after the first and second set of blades.

Ria looked at the situation and shook her head: "I almost cannot believe what I saw. How can those creatures be stupid enough to simply walk through swinging blades? Are their brains rotten or what?"

"Well", I commented with a smirk, "if you look at their skulls, there's not much of a brain left at all, so that I guess you are right."

T'mara volunteered to pass the swinging blades again and disabled them from the other side, so that now we could take our time and look around. T'mara heard some chanting voices and soon found a word wall, which made her smile. While she was absorbing the shout, Ria and I checked the room for loot. A nicely decorated chest indeed had the book we were looking for - 'Shalidor's Insights'. In addition, we fond a couple of more Skill books and lots of alchemy supplies. Finally, under the word wall a small corridor lead to an ancient bowl, which somehow looked familiar. T'mara approached to my side, looked at the bowl as well, and finally said: "This looks like the bowl Nurelion in Windhelm described to get the White Phial. Wait a second, didn't he claim that the Phial was most likely located in this cave here?"

"Now as you mention it", I replied, "I guess you are right. But what do we need to do?"

T'mara's memory seemed to be better than mine: "You may not have noticed, but when we were at his store, he handed me a small amount of a special mixture to pour into the bowl. Let's try that!"

My wife searched her pack and found the small vial with the mixture. She poured it into the bowl, and a hidden stone door lowered itself into the ground, opening a way forward. The narrow passage lead to another chamber, and in there we indeed found an artifact which looked exactly like the 'White Phial' had been described to us. It looked damaged and cracked, though, but we took it nonetheless.

Meanwhile Ria had located the back door which we expected to be there, and we this enabled us to get out quickly. As we had had enough of an adventure for the day, we all decided to go back to the inn and relax for the rest of the day. On the next morning Ria was taking her leave to head back to Whiterun, whereas my wife and myself started to walk to Windhelm and delver the White Phial. Windhelm was not far from here, and we owed it to Nurelion to bring back what we was looking for.

As Windhelm was only half a day away from the inn, we took our time and enjoyed the scenery while looking towards the nearby river and the partially ice covered waterfalls. We had almost reached 'Anga's Mill', when we heard the familiar dragon roar, and we immediately looked around. A lone fisherman was sitting on the other side of the river, and for some reason a dragon was heading towards the poor person. While T'mara shouted a warning, I got my crossbow out and loaded a standard bolt, as I did not yet know what type of dragon we had encountered. As soon as the dragon slowed down, I quickly fired my bolt, and it hit right at the time the beast breathed a large frost cloud. The bolt staggered the beast slightly so that the frost cloud just barely missed the poor fisherman. Now alerted, the guy dropped his pole and ran away, seeking cover. The dragon lost previous seconds making up its mind; apparently it could not decide if to go for the fisherman or fly over to our side. This gave me time to load a bolt of exploding fire and hit the beast again. The dragon got angry and started head towards us, so that the range was now close enough for T'mara – as soon as the dragon slowed down to attack me, my wife shouted 'YOL' and hit the beast fully in the chest. A loud roar was in the air, but the dragon again breathed frost at me. I quickly jumped aside and cast a ward, so that I was only hit a little. A couple of hold guards who happened to stop at the mill now also joined in and shot their arrows. Once again the dragon had a hard time to decide on whom to attack next, and I was able to hit it with another bolt. The beast breathed another frost cloud in my direction, but I was able to hide behind a big rock. I guess that I should be honored as the dragon clearly considered me to be the most dangerous enemy, but I did not really have the time to dwell much on that thought.

T'mara was now almost underneath the dragon and blasted fireballs at the beast, while arrows came flying from the other side, and eventually the dragon could not sustain flight any longer and crashed on the riverbank. We were all able to find cover behind the multiple rocks lying around and thus could continue to pester the beast. One of the guards did not hide well enough and the dragon managed to hurt him with frost, so that he went down with pain. However, a final 'YOL' shout together with my strongest fireball spell managed to deliver the final kill. T'mara absorbed the dragon soul, as usual.

Right away we ran over to the injured guard, who was breathing heavily. His companion obviously did not know what to do, so that T'mara and I took over the healing with our proven strategy. Soon the guard was conscious again and ready to move: "Thank you very much, Dragonborn and companion, for helping me, and also for bringing down that dragon – this will not be forgotten!"

T'mara smiled and replied: "You are welcome, soldier. Have a good day!"

Before leaving the site we also looked over to the other side of the river, as we had not had the time to check if the lone fisherman had survived. But we saw him waving from the other side and he shouted over his thanks for defeating the dragon, We shouted back a greeting and were happy to see that he was alive and apparently uninjured; thus we walked on.

Soon we passed 'Anga's Mill' and greeted the owner, and around lunch time we entered the city of Windhelm. We turned left right away towards the market area and first got some light lunch. When our stomachs were full we entered the shop 'The White Phial'. The owner, Nurelion, seemed to be not well at all, and we were greeted by his assistant instead. Quintus was delighted to hear the news and lead us upstairs where his master sat in a chair. When we showed him the cracked phial he looked disappointed and said:

"This... it matches every description of the Phial that I've found in lore. But if it can't hold liquid, there's no way of knowing. How did you manage to damage it, then? This is what I get for not retrieving it myself."

T'mara responded: "But it was already broken and cracked as we found it in the cave!"

Nurelion almost barked: "Figures – I doubt you have sufficient knowledge to harm the Phial even if you wanted to. Either way, this is the end of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm not quite in the mood to entertain guests. I trust you can show yourselves out. Here's for your trouble."

T'mara had received a meager five septimes for our efforts. Quintus lead us down again and added: "I want to thank you for your help. I know my master can be a bit short at times. I do believe you when you say that the phial was already damaged when you found it."

He also offered additional money, but we declined and suggested to use it on the shop instead. "If you need anything, just send word to us" T'mara finally mentioned as we left the shop again.

Outside she looked at me: "I guess it's too late for today to head to Winterhold. What about getting a room at the 'Candlehearth Hall' and retiring early?"

With the last words she had used her very special smile, and thinking about the dragon fight I knew exactly what she referred to, absorbed dragon soul and such.

"Well, I don't know about that", I started to tease her, "I am not tired yet. We might as well walk around and look for more adventures."

"Timotheus!" she objected.

"On second thought", I continued with a big smile, "suddenly I do feel a little tired. Finding a nice warm bed with a certain Khajiit in it sounds rather tempting after all."

"Much better", my wife responded with a smirk, "off we go!"

On our way back to the College of Winterhold, we took the same route as last time, through the snow and ice north of the city rather than following the road which made a huge detour. We made good time, only rarely being interrupted by ice wolves and snow bears, and soon reached the road again close to the 'Whistling Mine'. This time we could not resist Thorgar's pleas to help search for new veins in the mine: "Mining is hard work, but we pay a fair price for any ore you dig up."

We spent a couple of hours inside looking. Despite our best efforts, though, we could only locate a few iron ore veins, and we sold a few lone pieces of ore back to Thorgar outside. While he looked a little bit disappointed, he nonetheless claimed: "The mine will be the talk of Skyrim soon, you'll see. It'll be the stuff of legends."

Well, T'mara and I did not really think so, but wisely kept out opinion to ourselves.

_[Author's Note: The hamlet of 'Heljarchen' has been restored/added around 'Nightgate Inn' by the mod "Cutting Room Floor", I believe]_


	39. Chapter 39 - Exploring Yngol Barrow

**Chapter 39: Exploring Yngol Barrow**

_[24__th__of First Seed__ – __7__th__of Rain's Hand 4E 202]_

Back at the college, we continued to work on our magicka and spellcasting. Before meeting T'mara, I had already been able to get my restoration magic skill up to Adept level, and I wanted to try to get to Expert level. Both the Dragonborn business and other adventuring we were getting into had a risk of getting one of us injured from time to time, and I was sure that better healing capability was a very good idea. In addition, I hoped to be able to make at least some progress in all other schools of magic.

T'mara had similar goals. She wanted to improve her Restoration capabilities as well, but also intended to get better at Destruction. While she had some Shouts at her command, those always needed some time in between, so that filling the required 'cooling' time with destruction spells seemed to be a good idea. In addition to that she needed advice and training in Conjuration, as she wanted to find out how to conjure her own familiar. Although that spell was already available at Novice level, she had not managed to successfully cast it yet, which made her quite unhappy.

I joined my wife for a few days taking lessons with Phinis Gestor, a Breton mage and local expert on Conjuration. He helped us and some other students along in improving our Conjuration magic, but he also pointed out: "As you may know, the Conjuration school of magic is more than literally 'conjuring' something, like a familiar. On higher levels there are 'reanimate' spells, and there is 'soul trap'. In order to not disturb people, please also contain your summons to the College grounds. The locals do not need to be agitated further by atronachs roaming their town. The summoning of undead is even less advisable outside of the College."

Hearing that, one student asked: "Summoning undead isn't frowned upon?"

Phines explained: "By Sheor, no. Those archaic policies died out with the Mages Guild, and were never enforced here. Necromancy, as any other type of magic, is a tool to be used. Of course, non-mages may not see it that way, so we don't go around flaunting it."

After some general lecturing, Phinis told us that the 'Conjure Familiar' spell was one of the basic ones in the school of Conjuration magic, and that it needed only a sufficient pool of magicka, knowledge of the spell, and quite some practice. He offered everyone not knowing the spell yet to learn from a spell tome he handed out for free. At that time, he was curious to see who of us could already conjure a familiar. A couple of students demonstrated theirs, which was a dog like creature for one and something like a larger skeever for the other, and then I showed mine. When Pammy materialized, everybody was in awe, including the teacher. Once I had introduced my familiar to the group, Phinis asked:

"Timotheus, do you know why your familiar happens to be a creature similar to a Pahmer, and how long will she stay with you once summoned?"

I gladly answered: "I spent most of my childhood and youth in Cyrodiil, but my parents and I occasionally traveled to some close-by regions in Elsweyr, such as Riverhold. The Pahmer and Alfiq I saw there entered my dreams when I was a kid; I was in awe of them and admired them and asked my parents if I could have as a pet, which was declined. I believe that my dreams about Pahmer must have influenced me a lot when I learned to summon a familiar later on, during my first time at the college here as a student. Since I have known to summon her, I have done this so many times over the last years, and almost constantly when traveling, specifically to guard my sleep. Since a year ago or so I can summon her in the evening and she will still be there when I wake up."

Phinis nodded and commented: "This is an excellent summon duration time, which can only be achieved by lots of practice. Most familiars only stay for a few minutes when summoned first, but diligent practice can extend that time a lot. Familiars can also be a great help to mages in fights, against creatures of the wild or bandits."

Another student asked: "If one does not have a familiar yet, what kind of animal can it be?"

Phinis replied: "It can be almost anything. I mean, it is somewhat unlikely that your familiar is, let's say, a slaughterfish, but maybe even that makes sense for an Argonian living close to the sea?"

A few students laughed. At that time I took my leave from the lesson, hoping that my wife might be able to make some progress and summon her own familiar within a few days. I had plans to visit the Jarl again, and thus walked down into town. When entering the longhouse, I could hear the Jarl talking to his son:

"Eirid says the mages at the College are nice people, but you said they're bad."

"Eirid's a little girl who doesn't understand that they're responsible for destroying our home."

"Why did they do that? Why would they be so evil?"

"Because they don't care about you or I, cub. They think they're better than all of us, and that we can just be thrown away."

"I hate them."

"That's my boy."

I certainly did not approve, but knew better than to interfere at this time and thus patiently waited until the conversation was over before I approached the Jarl. When I carefully indicated that I was willing to do some work for him, he replied:

"Winterhold has lost much of its history, and with that much of its power. I aim to change that. I've heard rumors of the resting place of the Helm of Winterhold, the very same helm that Jarl Hanse wore in the First Era. Hanse was in line to be High King of Skyrim, you know. Having that might get the ear of the other Holds and give me some authority."

The Jarl added that the artifact was supposedly to be found in a place called 'Yngol Barrow', but guarded and not easy to get. I nodded, promised to have a look when I had time, and turned to leave. On my way back I stopped by at Birna's shop, browsed her wares, and mentioned that I'd go to 'Yngol Barrow' soon to get an artifact. When she heard the name, she looked at me, showed me an artifact she called 'Coral Claw', and said:

"I once made a bad deal related to that barrow. A man said that this claw here was worth more than its weight in gold if I took it back there. Something about placing it back in Yngol's chamber, I don't know. What was I thinking? Even if it were true, I'm not setting foot in some ancient tomb, filled with who knows what."

"Well", I replied, "as I will go there anyway, I could look into it for you."

"I don't even care any more." she said. "You want to check it out? Fine. I'll sell you the thing for fifty gold, and then it's your problem."

I nodded: "I'll take the claw for 50 gold."

She handed it over: "Fine, here you go. You get killed on account of this thing, it's not my fault. Got it? But, I suppose, if it does actually turn out to be worth something, let me know, will you?"

I gladly promised that I would do that.

On the next day I told my wife that I would like to visit 'Yngol Barrow' sooner or later, for the dual purpose of retrieving an artifact for the Jarl of Winterhold and finding out if there was a secret related to the Coral Claw. We looked at our map and located the place northeast of Windhelm, close to the coast. While pondering options to get there, I had an idea: "T'mara, what about I talk to Tolfdir and suggest that we make an excursion with all students, so that they can practice some of the spells both while getting there and in the barrow?" My wife liked the idea, and I went off to search for Tolfdir. As he was just finishing a lesson, I had to wait for a couple of minutes, and then I told him:

"Tolfdir, would you agree that it is about time that the students get outside of the college for a few days and get some real life experience?"

Tolfdir thought about it and replied: "Well, we had the trip to Saarthal a few weeks ago, but I guess that another excursion would not hurt. Do you have something specific in mind?"

I nodded and replied: "Yes, indeed, I do. For various reasons I plan to enter 'Yngol Barrow', which is located southeast of here in Eastmarch hold, across the Yorgrim River. While I could do this just with my wife, I wonder if you wouldn't want to come with us together with the students. The three of us should be enough for protection of the students, and maybe we could take both the three new students and the previous class with us? They could train proper behavior both in open space, on the snow and ice while we get there, and in a closed environment in the barrow itself. What do you think?"

Tolfdir seemed to like the idea now and said: "Let me check with the Arch-Mage, but so far I like the idea!"

A couple of hours later Tolfdir came back and announced that the Arch-Mage had approved, and that all six students together with him, my wife and myself would embark on this excursion starting day after tomorrow. Everybody was going to take a sleeping bag and some supplies, but we did not need tents, as we should be able to get there in less than one day.

T'mara and I spent one more day attending a couple of lessons and practicing spells, and then the day of the excursion had come. A group of curious students were lead outside in the morning, and I explained that we were first going to follow the road, passing 'Whistling Mine', and later on turn eastwards, just before reaching 'Stillborn Cave'. Tolfdir advised the students to stay together and pay attention to the environment; T'mara added that we were likely to encounter wolves, bears, bandits, and other dangerous creatures. Indeed, right after leaving the city, a couple of snow bears could be seen in the distance, close to the road, and they had not yet detected us. Tolfdir asked if any of the students knew a proper spell to attack them.

J'zargo mentioned that a fire spell should be working well against them, and I nodded. I encouraged him: "J'zargo, why don't you and I sneak ahead and cast fireblasts at them; T'mara and Tolfdir can protect the others if they get past us. Please attack the left bear and I take the one to the right."

The Khajiit nodded, and we sneaked ahead. When we got close enough, I nodded to my companion, and he started to shoot fireballs at one of the bears, whereas I attacked the other one. It turned out that J'zargos's fireblasts were quite powerful, even stronger than mine, and the bears did not even get close to us before they succumbed to the heat.

Some of the students had watched a little timidly, and I realized that not all of them would bravely encounter a bear on their own. Maybe I should look for smaller prey, like a wolf? As if ordered, a pack of ice wolves were lingering on the road, not far from the mine. Before they had noticed us, I asked who might volunteer to attack, adding that distance weapons line bows and crossbows would be as good as spells. Rundi's frost magic would not help against ice wolves, but Yisra, Rundi, and Brelyna volunteered to cast spells. T'mara and I took them forward a little and told them to start casting as soon as the first arrow from my wife's bow and the first bolt from my crossbow had hit their target. This was achieved within seconds, and the three students blasted away. However, it turned out that hitting moving targets was much more difficult that the stationary wards they had practiced with at the college, and most blasts missed. Nonetheless, only two wolves got close to us, and both T'mara and I finished them off with our sword and axe.

After the fight was over and we talked about it all together, Tolfdir looked at me for comments and I summarized: "You have all seen that a combination of spells and weapons can work quite well. Casting fireballs onto a stationary target is one thing, but hitting a moving ice wolf is much more difficult. If you encounter a pack, you can hut a few of them, but the others will try to get you. Having a close distance weapon like a sword or at least a dagger, can save your life after all. Maybe we should offer some weapons training at the college as well, for those who think that this could be good for them."

We passed the mine and followed the road, until a side path forked off to the east. It led us onto ice and snow, and progress was slower now. A lot of animals kept their distance when seeing such a large group of people, and only a couple of ice wraiths tried to molest us. Most students got a chance to attack them, and they found out again that hitting the moving targets was tricky. A couple of students got chilblains from the encounter, which other students were quick to heal.

About halfway to the coast the path ended and we had to search for our way forward. We moved directly east where I knew we would be able to descend down to the coast, and close to the coast a snowy saber cat stood in our way. This time the students with frost spells got to attack, and they managed to slay the single beast before it got too close. Right on the coast, though, a small group of necromancers and pyromancers approached, and as they started to attack, mainly with fireblasts, Tolfdir shouted "Wards up everybody!" The students were quick to either do that or duck behind rocks, but they were unsure on how to counter the attack. After quite a few fireballs however the hostile mages mostly ran out of magicka, and I demonstrated how to quickly look over a rock, send my own fireball, and duck again. Some students followed that example, and soon the enemies were in trouble. More fireballs and a few bolts from my side killed the first one, and then I sent Pammy forward to clean up. A few necromancers had some high level robes and lots of septims on them, which we happily collected.

My summary to the students this time was: "You see, when people cast spells a lot, you better either hide behind good cover or raise a ward. If your magicka pool is good enough, you may be able to wait until the enemies run out of magicka and do your own attack then. If you run out of magicka yourself, it does not hurt at all to have other weapons at your disposal, and this includes your familiar. Also better keep in mind that wards protect well against spells, but not against arrows and such."

As we were at the coast now, I pointed out the location of the barrow, located close to the coast on the other side of the inlet. Asking the group if one had an idea how to get across, Onmund pointed out: "I prefer to not get wet in the icy water. A little south of here I can see some floating ice; maybe this is enough to pass across?"

We agreed and walked south a little, and indeed it seemed possible to walk across ice to a small island and from there to the other side. Some students hesitated, but I promised to air-dry everybody who got wet by accident with my low power fire spell, as I had done before at other opportunities. As it happened, J'zargo was not careful enough close to the other side, and he plunged into the cold water when a small ice float he stepped on suddenly moved and tilted. We got him out in no time and I used my low power fire spell on him.

Close to where we had crossed the water, a path with a few steps lead up to Yngol Barrow. Next to the entrance we found the book 'Yngol and the Sea-Ghosts', and it hinted that Yngol was related to Ysgramor and was with him initially, but perished in a fight against sea-ghosts. The book claimed that Yngol and his mates were the first 'Children of the Sky' to be killed in Tamriel.

We preferred to not camp outside in the cold, but entered the barrow right away. Inside we had to follow some ice tunnels and pass some draugrs before we stepped into a larger room with one of those Nordic puzzle doors. Tolfdir, T'mara and I decided that this was good enough for today and told the students that we would set up camp here, once we had moved the body of a dead adventurer aside. Apparently, the guy had failed in solving the puzzle. Everybody got their sleeping bags out, I summoned Pammy, and after supper we all retired. Bran joined Pammy in guarding our sleep.

On the next morning we looked at the puzzle in the room, and after breakfast everybody was encouraged to think about it. For sometime we were all unsure on how to approach it, as we could not find clear visual references as we had seen in other places, but one of the students checked on the dead adventurer again and found a book. It turned out that the man had been some kind of scholar, and we had written notes on the barrow into a book titled 'Notes on Yngol Barrow'. The section related to the puzzle was like this:

_Man in his throne, so should he be  
Whale in the Sea, so should he be _  
_Eagle in Sun's Sky, so should he be _  
_Snake in the weed, so should he be_

It took us some time to figure it out, but we finally managed, as a result of good teamwork. The door which opened soon led us to a larger portal which required the coral claw I had purchased earlier in Winterhold. Of course I used the opportunity to teach the students about the claw and how the symbols on it provided the proper position of the three rings in the door.

Not long after opening the claw door we reached what looked like the final room with probably the most challenging enemies. I reminded the students to be extra careful; the archers were placed back at the door, and Tolfdir, T'mara and I proceeded carefully, with students behind us, spells ready in their hands or paws. A kind of sarcophagus, placed close the center of the big room, had our special attention. It wouldn't be the first time that a dangerous draugr or so would rise from it as soon as we were close. In fact, we were not disappointed, and a dragon priest rose from the center as soon as we had closed about half of the distance. While he was attacked immediately with arrows and fireballs, this had not much of an effect, and he came close very quickly. T'mara and I used our swords from both sides, and the dragon priest attacked with a spell of his own. It wasn't the usual fire or frost blast, but I felt my health and stamina being drained. This did not concern me too much as I knew that I had quite some reserves on both, and I kept attacking. However, I must have underestimated the dragon priest's spell power, and I also failed to noticed that the spell was mainly directed at me. Soon I felt a little dizzy, so that the dragon priest was able to place a solid hit with his axe against my helmet; due to the drain effect I fell down and fainted.

When I came to my senses again, T'mara had my head in her lap, using her left paw to heal me, and I could hear her words of instructions to the students: "… is a perfect example of somebody being too bold, ignoring spell effects and going to continue the fight rather than retreating and healing. You see that even an experienced fighter can make mistakes. How could we have done the attack better?"

J'zargo immediately commented: "We need to improve on our destruction spells and expertise so that we can deal more damage in less time! Once this one had full mastery of Expert level destruction, dragon priests will no longer be a problem!"

T'mara smiled: "Yes, that too. But what else?"

Brelyna suggested: "We could have attacked from more different directions, so that the dragon priest would have only been able to cast his spell on one of us at a time. The person being targeted could have retreated and healed, in order to join the fight later again."

My wife nodded: "Yes, that's about my opinion, too. Anything else?"

Tolfdir added, looking at me with a smirk on his face: "A person targeted by such a powerful spell could also counter by stepping back for a moment and drinking proper potions."

I was fully awake again now and concluded: "Yes, I have noticed that I acted like a fool. Well, I hope that I could serve as a bad example at least!"

Almost everybody laughed, and my wife gave me a long hot kiss, ignoring the consequent hoots and shouts provided by some students.

Finally, we searched for loot, and among other stuff we located the Helm of Winterhold, the artifact the Jarl was looking for. Getting out of the barrow was easier than getting in, once we found the hidden back door.


	40. Chapter 40 - Thane of Winterhold

**Chapter 40: Thane of Winterhold**

_[7__th__ – __27th of Rain's Hand__4E 202]_

All of us had learned some lessons in the barrow, including myself. The hike back was supposed to be relaxed, but when we had just crossed the river on the ice floats, we could see a dragon approaching. The beast was, however, not directly heading in our direction, but apparently had another target in mind. While the students hesitated, T'mara and I moved closer, and soon we could see that the dragon was about to attack two travelers. In order to distract the beast, my wife shouted 'FUS' in the dragon's general direction, and this indeed worked – the dragon headed towards us now. I quickly told the students to seek cover, and when the beast breathed frost spikes, I shouted to everybody to attack with fire. Fortunately, the area had some larger rocks, which enabled the students to hide and occasionally throw a fireball towards the dragon, whereas T'mara used 'YOL' and Tolfdir used his strongest fire spell. I switched to the crossbow and loaded bolts of exploding fire, and soon the dragon found itself to be attacked from almost all sides at once. One of the travelers also used a bow, and after a few minutes the dragon was forced to land."Now we got it!" my wife shouted, and we intensified our attacks, while always keeping a safe distance. A final concentrated attack killed the beast, and soon my wife once again absorbed the dragon soul. Naturally, the students were now all in awe and called "Dragonborn!", so that T'mara finally had to admit her special status to the entire party.

The two travelers which had first been attacked came closer, and we recognized Lydia and Inigo. They had completed their honeymoon and were on their way from Windhelm to Winterhold, and we bade them a warm welcome into our group. While we continued our walk, Lydia reported that they also had a message from Delphine – she was getting impatient and urged us to find a way to infiltrate the Thalmor embassy close to Solitude.

"Even Delphine understands that a young female Khajiit like the Dragonborn is quite unlikely to blend in", Lydia said. "However, she is curious if we might know somebody who might be able to do that. Delphine believes that she should be able to get a genuine invitation to one of Elenwen's parties."

"Delphine still seems to be convinced that the dragons are controlled by the Thalmor or that there is at least a connection", I commented. "I do actually not believe so, as I cannot imagine that the dragons allow themselves to be controlled by elves, but I may be wrong."

T'mara asked: "Yes, my love, I agree. Do we know anybody who might want to be brave and go and do this task?"

I prompted: "I believe that infiltrating the Thalmor embassy is quite dangerous and should be done by the best of the best. Whom do we know who might fit in this category?"

My wife pondered this and then suggested: "Oh yes, the Thieves Guild. They might actually be able to pull it off, invitation or no invitation."

I nodded and continued: "Yes, they might. As we have our contacts, why don't we ask them next time we are in Riften. The loot they are likely to find there might be a good incentive in addition to what are going to pay."

That being said, we moved on towards Winterhold, pushing forward on snow and ice. During our next break, T'mara was sitting on the side and spending extra effort to finally getting the "Summon Familiar" spell working. She certainly had enough magicka, but somehow the spell had not worked yet, frustrating her a lot. This time however, after a few attempts, something happened, and eventually something appeared. I did not really know yet what it was, but it seemed to be a quite big animal with wings and four legs, looking remotely like a mix of lion and eagle. T'mara's jaw had dropped down, and she was apparently as surprised as I was. Lydia, Inigo, Tolfdir, and the students were sitting some distance away, separated by a few rocks, and they had not yet seen the apparition. The animal got closer to my wife and allowed her to touch it. Finally T'mara looked in my direction and said, looking quite satisfied and happy: "This is a griffin. We seem to have some kind of telepathic connection, and I have just learned about that. I had not been able to summon him so far, because he prefers to be outdoors. I am going to call him Edric."

This being said, I first hugged my wife and then walked to the others and told them about T'mara's success, and I invited them to have a look. Most did, and all of them were in awe. Tolfdir commented: "This griffin is likely going to be quite useful for scouting in open areas, I guess".

My wife was really happy that she had finally managed to summon her own personal familiar, and after that event we got back to the college without further incident. As the students got the next day off to recover from the ordeal, some of them decided to celebrate and imbibe on alcohol, but as my wife had absorbed a dragon soul earlier this day, I had a good idea on what she might prefer and whispered a few words about going to bed early in her perked ears; this made her smile and pull me towards our small room, where we found the narrow bed in our college quarters to be not an issue at all as we spent almost all night on top of each other rather than side by side.

As the next day was free, I walked down into town and first visited Brina, the shop owner. She had just opened up, and I proudly presented the 'Helm of Winterhold' we had found, saying that I was about to hand it over to the Jarl. I added: "Brina, only thanks to you offering the claw we were able to find the helmet and quite a lot of other loot. As thank you for that you should get all the loot I am going to sell at half price – what do you say?"

Brina looked quite happy now: "This is too generous of course, but I accept. What do you have?"

I handed over the collection of swords, arrows, and armor we had found, plus some additional circlets, rings, and gems. Brina got a value of about 2000 septims for 1000 septims, and although that almost exceeded the amount of cash she had available, she was a happy woman today.

When leaving I added: "If you find some special artifacts again at some time, please let me know!"

My next stop was the Jarl's longhouse. After entering, I waited for the Jar to finish a discussion with his steward. When he had finished, I approached him and said: "I have the Helm of Winterhold."

"Can you believe that this hold used to contend for the throne of the High King?" the Jarl pondered, while handing over a small coin purse. "Now perhaps others will listen. Here, your reward as promised. You have Winterhold's thanks."

He added: "By the way, there is room in my court for a new Thane. It's an honorary title, mainly, but there are a few perks someone like you could make use of. However, I could only grant the title to someone who is known throughout my Hold. You help my people, and I'll make you my Thane."

I replied respectfully: "It would be an honor, my Jarl. Actually, I believe that I've helped your people already."

After quickly consulting his steward, the Jarl looked at me and nodded: "Yes, I have heard about that from my steward. Then by my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Winterhold. I grant you this weapon from the armory to serve as your badge of office. I'll also notify the guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now."

Why is it, I thought, that almost all of the Jarls used that term 'part of the common rabble' when promoting someone to Thane? Was that a phrase they had agreed upon in their last moot or so? I did not think of 'normal' citizens like this at all.

The next few days T'mara and I focused on our casting again, and we made good progress. A couple of weeks later my wife admitted that she needed a break, and I suggested: "Well, we could visit Riften and find out if M'lissa and Karliah were able to convince the Thieves Guild about Karliah's innocence and Mercer's deeds and misdoings. If all is well, we can ask them about doing a job at the Thalmor embassy."

"I like that idea!" my wife beamed. "Do we take Lydia and Inigo with us as well?"

"Let us ask them about it" I suggested. We went over to them, and they wanted to stay here until we came back, which was just fine for us. When we walked through the library to study a few books, Onmund, the Nord student, came over to me and asked if I could spare a few minutes of my time for him. When I agreed, he told me: "Well, this is a little bit embarrassing, but I made a big mistake by selling a family heirloom to Enthir when I was drunk a couple of nights ago. I would like to get it back, but Enthir says 'a deal is a deal' and refuses. He hinted that if I did him a favor he might reconsider, and suggested that if I could get the 'Grand Staff of Charming' for him, he'd be happy enough to humor me. He insisted that the staff was most likely to be found in 'Bob's Fall Cave'. I'd love to get it from there, but you see, I am just one student, and I do not know which dangers might await me there..."

I smiled and told him: "I understand. Well, you know, two of my friends will be staying here for a while, Lydia and Inigo. I am quite sure that they won't be able to study and practice casting for week after week without a break, and they will certainly welcome an interruption. Why don't we ask them if they volunteer to go to the cave with you."

Talking to Lydia and Inigo indeed revealed that they were more than happy to go on an excursion with Onmund, and the three of them agreed to do this early next week. T'mara told them that we planned to be back in Winterhold in a couple of weeks or so.

Finally we were able to plan our trip to Riften. We decided to not wait for a carriage, but rather take our time and walk; we expected this to be more fun. When looking at the map, I tried to find a route which we had not taken before and pointed out: "Look, there is a path south of Saarthal, passing a place which is marked as 'Alftand' and going south from there via 'Wayward Pass'; from there it is all downhill to 'Nightgate Inn'."

T'mara liked the idea and we decided to leave very early in the morning on the next day, to try to make it to the inn in one day. We managed to get up a couple of hours before sunrise, ate a quick breakfast and shouldered our packs. Once outside of the town, we summoned our familiars and walked at a quick pace uphill to the ice fields southwest of Winterhold. A couple of ice wraiths and ice wolves barely slowed us down, and soon we found ourselves passing Saarthal on the south side, proceeding towards this 'Alftand' place. Noon time was already behind us when we finally reached it, but there were only a few small huts and a walkway which seemed to lead into the mountain. We found a sunny bench to sit on and enjoyed a lunch meal, followed by sunbathing for a few minutes, before we moved on. Soon we reached a proper road again leading up to the mountain pass.

I mentioned to T'mara: "You know, such a mountain pass has been known to be used for an ambush by bandits and such; we should proceed with care!"

We approached the pass carefully, and indeed there was a bandit archer placed on the rock perch above the pass, and the highwayman started to shoot at us. T'mara's familiar had been around, though, and quickly descended towards the bandit. The attack distracted the bandit sufficiently so that I could hit the guy with my crossbow, and Edric finished him off. The griffin looked around for more bandits, and soon three more of them were flushed out; they had seen the big griffin, though, and decided to flee, so that we could pass now. From there on, the road descended again, and without further interruption we arrived at the inn before dusk. Hadring, the innkeeper, seemed to be glad to see us again, and he also recalled our preference for drinks, asking if we'd like to have a jug of milk each. We smiled and confirmed, also ordering dinner for later. After eating, we quickly dropped in our bed after the long walk we have achieved today. Bran was quite happy to sleep in our room, too, as he had exhausted himself during the day, occasionally trying to catch rabbits and foxes.

Considering the strenuous hike on the day before, I asked my wife if she was still fit on the next morning, and when she agreed, I mentioned with a smirk: "Well, if we walk again very fast today, we can either make it to Windhelm or Kynesgrove or even to our favorite hot spring – what might your preference be, my dear?"

T'mara smiled back at me and was quick to decide: "Let's go for the hot spring – I am about ready for a hot bath!"

That was my preference as well, and thus we walked first in the direction of 'Anga's Mill'. Today no dragon stopped us, but as were about to cross the bridge after the mill, a group of three necromancers and conjurers approached rapidly and attacked. Pammy and Bran were close by and charged right away, distracting one of the enemies and keeping him busy. The other two came upon us one behind the other, and T'mara opted to use the 'YOL' shout, breathing fire. While this was not yet enough the kill the two, it hurt them a lot and distracted them well enough so we could finish them off with our swords. Pammy and Bran had been successful in killing their own prey, and we could search the bodies for loot.

Passing Windhelm stables in the early afternoon we turned south and soon left the snow region. Around Kynesgrove spring was already in the air, and various flowers started to show their colors. T'mara admitted that she had missed this and was not really liking the eternal winter in Winterhold so much, but for now we had left winter behind. A few kilometers later we turned left, away from the road, at our usual spot and soon found our favorite hot pool. The sun was already going down behind the hills, so that is was too late for a bath. We set up our small tent, put our bedroll down, and ate a quick supper. I summoned Pammy again and she was tasked to keep watch together with Bran; we could rely on those two and rest safely, which we did in each other's arms.

On the next morning the sun was hiding behind thick clouds, and after breakfast rain started to fall. "Well, I think that this should not keep us from enjoying the hot pool" I said to my wife, and she fully agreed. Pammy was re-summoned, and she and Bran were happily running around in the close neighborhood while T'mara and I jumped into the pool, after removing all of our clothes. It was kind of funny to feel cold raindrops hitting us from above while our bodies were almost fully submerged in the hot water, and we indulged in the luxury for most of the day. Sometimes we scratched each others back, sometimes we dozed off a little, and sometimes we tried some tickling, and a couple of times we got involved in more heated activities, which made us forget completely about lunch. Later on, when the sun was quite low already, our stomachs complained at almost the same time, and we reluctantly agreed to get out, dry off, and eat something. After supper, we spent a little time petting our familiars and then went to bed early.

The trip to Riften from the hot spring area was something we had done a few times already, at least using the shortest route and being on a carriage. Thus, for today I decided to detour a little bit and take the smaller path which lead past Ansilvund and Ruunvald south to Riften, passing east of Shor's Stone. For the first part of the trip, while still being in the valley, we picked various flowers to collect as alchemy ingredients. Soon we turned left off the main road onto a small winding path uphill and enjoyed the scenery, until a few wolves got close, baring their teeth. Pammy and Bran though drove them away quickly, which T'mara's griffin scouted ahead. Edric actually decided to have a look at the area around Ansilvund, and a few minutes later we could see fireballs being shot at him. Consequently we rushed in the same direction to see a conjurer blasting off the fireballs; as he was totally distracted by the griffin, he failed to see us getting close and lost his life as we fired bolts and arrows. The small tower across from the excavation site provided some loot, and soon we could turn back to the path again.

A couple of hours later the boreal forest slowly turned into the perpetual Riften autumn forest with yellow and red leaves, and as soon as found a nice spot we sat down for our lunch break. Pammy had managed to kill a deer, and she shared it with Bran and Edric. The path was just barely visible, but we only need to head south to find our way. We passed a number of iron ore veins and finally got close to the main road again just next to the Shrine of Zenithar. T'mara joked: "Last time we were here a dragon attacked, I recall – what about today?" We looked around, but there was no dragon in the air. However, when we had reached the Riften Stables, we heard quite a commotion from the area around Merryfair Farm, and a dragon was starting to devastate the fields there. Naturally, we ran in this direction, and as soon as I was in crossbow range, I stopped and started shooting. The dragon lifted itself from the ground and flew in our direction, but this brought it in my wife's bow range and she started shooting as well. As the dragon had blown fire on the fields, T'mara also used her 'IIZ' shout to freeze the beast, which hurt at least, so that the dragon was soon down at the ground again. Edric was brave enough to attack from one side, I was still sending bolts, and a couple of hold guards were now also shooting their bows, so that the young dragon finally succumbed. The guards and the farmer stood in awe when T'mara absorbed the dragon soul, and we checked the damage to the farm. Fortunately the dragon had just started to breathe fire on the fields, and only a few dead sheep showed up.

Along the guards shouting after the dragon fight, we could also hear some girl voices, and one of them stuck out: "Wow, I guess that you were right – the Dragonborn really is a Khajiit!"

Looking in that direction, we saw two girls looking no older than 13 or 14 years old, one of them a Redguard with black hair and the other most likely a Nord, pale and with blonde hair. Both of them were looking at T'mara in awe, and the Redguard girl actually started to approach us when she saw that we were looking in her direction. She addressed my wife like this: "Hey, did you come down from Helgen when you encountered Alduin for the first time?"

T'mara and I looked at each other and my wife replied: "Were you in Helgen, too, when Alduin came down upon the town?"

She nodded and said: "Yes, indeed, both my friend and I were there in the Keep, and we escaped through the tunnels. Look, this may appear strange, but my friend and I really would love to talk to you; do you think that you can find some time for us?"

T'mara was not quite sure what to think of that, but I smiled and responded: "My dear, it looks like you have a fan club. Why don't we invite the two girls to our home for dinner tomorrow?"

My wife nodded and confirmed: "Okay, as my husband suggested, please feel free to join us for dinner tomorrow in our home - 'Honeyside' - do you know how to find it?"

The Redguard girl nodded swiftly, so that her braids were swinging around: "Of course we do. Thank you, and we will see you tomorrow!"

Finally, we could get into Riften by the north gate. As dusk was close, we had dinner at the inn, entered our Riften home and went to bed, jointly deciding that all business discussions would have to wait until the next day.

_[Author's Note: I visualize the Griffin T'mara finally summons to look like the griffins in the "Heroes of Might and Magic" game series, or like this one: . . The name Edric is a homage to the game "Heroes of Might and Magic 3" and the hero Edric in there, who has a special affiliation with griffins: . /Edric . The encounter with the two girls was partially inspired by the story "Dovah Twins" by "Queen Mist7777".]_


	41. Chapter 41 - A fanclub for the Dragonb

**Chapter 41: A fanclub for the Dragonborn?**

_[28__th__ – __29__th__of Rain's Hand__4E 202]_

We slept late into the morning, as yesterday's dragon soul absorption event had, once again, made my wife quite eager for attentions from me, so that we had made love passionately almost into the wee hours of the morning. Consequently we skipped breakfast and had an early lunch again at the inn. Afterwards we bought some food in the market, as our larder was almost empty.

On our way back from the market we ran into M'lissa, which save us the effort to look for her. She smiled widely when she saw us and called out: "You are here! That's good – can we talk somewhere?"

We went to our home, Honeyside, together and gathered around the table. After exchanging some more greetings, my wife started: "M'lissa, it is so good to see you again. Say, did everything work out as planned for you? Were you able to get Karliah reinstated? Did you get Mercer?"

The Khajiit responded: "Well, not everything worked as planned, but mostly. It took quite some effort to convince the guild that Karliah was innocent, but Karliah and myself eventually succeeded, mostly thanks to the translated journal we had with us. Mercer was gone and could not be found anywhere, so that we could not challenge him. However, we searched his house and found some hints indicating that we was going to hunt for a very special treasure, the gems called 'Eyes of the Falmer'. If he managed to find them, he could sell them for a huge amount of septims and live a life in luxury without ever moving a finger again. Naturally, we decided that we needed to stop him, and Karliah, Brynjolf and I followed him to the ruins of 'Irkngthand'."

"How did you know where to go?" I asked in between.

M'lissa continued: "Fortunately he had left a book around in hidden rooms below his house pointing out that this was his goal. Anyway, we followed him deep into the Dwemer ruin, which was sometimes dangerous, as he had reset a lot of traps. Somehow he had also managed to circumvent most Dwemer guardians, maybe because of his superior sneaking skills. After many hours of carefully moving forward – after all, we never knew if and where he was going to ambush us – we finally reached the hall with the Falmer statue and saw Mercer starting to pry out the gems. Before we could react, the ledge we were standing on collapsed, pushing me down, whereas Mercer cast some spell making Brynjolf attack Karliah. Mercer could now focus on me and attacked, and we had quite a hard fight. It was close, but I finally managed to kill him and get both gems from his body."

"Wow", my wife interjected, "that must have been tough."

"Yes it was, indeed!" M'lissa confirmed. "After that fight, I was almost ready to collapse, but I did not get the chance, as a trap was somehow triggered, making the hall slowly fill with water. The way back was blocked, and we were all frantically searching for a way out without finding one. When the water level was close to the head of the statue, we finally noticed that there was a hole in the ceiling, and once the water carried us up, there was a way out there. Once out of the water, we rested for some time and then got back to Riften, and that was that."

After a break and drinking something M'lissa continued: "Of course we needed to discuss the future leadership of the guild, and the entire guild was deciding on that – guess who is now leading the thieves guild?"

"Hm, maybe Brynjolf?" I guessed.

"Wrong" M'lissa shouted, "the new thieves guild master is sitting here with you!"

"You are?" T'mara almost could not believe it.

"Yes, I am" M'lissa confirmed. "I had also suggested Brynjolf, but he said that he was quite happy as second in command. Karliah also thought I'd be the best candidate, and the whole guild insisted I accept."

I had a feeling that M'lissa had not old us the entire story. For instance, I found it hard to believe that M'lissa was able to defeat Mercer Frey, who had quite some reputation for being a devious and excellent melee fighter, in single combat. However, maybe he had not been used to fighting a Khajiit. In addition, I needed to accept that there probably were some guild secrets M'lissa could not mention to us.

We also told her about our adventures of the last weeks and thus continued talking for quite some time. Eventually we got to the point related to our own business, and I started to explain:

"M'lissa, there is something we need to talk to you about, and as guild master, you are the perfect person to address this to."

"What?" M'lissa smiled, "do you want to hire the guild to steal something?"

"Kind of, yes" my wife replied. "We suspect that the Thalmor have critical information regarding the dragons, and we would like to infiltrate the Thalmor Embassy close to Solitude. You can probably imagine that this embassy is well guarded, so that we would need the best possible infiltrators. We wonder if somebody in the guild could handle that."

I continued: "If you think that you can pull it off, we are only interested in documents, and any loot you find would be yours, above and beyond a lump sum we'd pay."

M'lissa's eyes had grown large: "The Thalmor Embassy – this is quite ambitious, but I liked the idea. I will need to talk to my guild colleagues about that and get back to you tomorrow about this."

Before she left, she turned around again and grinned and said: "Wait – I cannot leave before I have told you another joke!"

T'mara and I sighed, but this did not stop my wife's cousin: "A baby snow bear asks his mother: 'Mom, has my Grandma also been a snow bear?' - ' Yes, my little one.' - "And have my Greatgrandma and her mother also been snow bears?' - 'Yes, my dear.' - 'Mom?' - ' Yes?' - ' Nonetheless I am freezing!'"

With those words she left, and we recalled that he had invited two girls for dinner. We had told them that they could arrive any time after four in the afternoon, and indeed they showed up almost exactly at four. I told them that dinner would not be ready for an hour or so, but that we could talk meanwhile; thus, we sat around our table.

One of the girls introduced them: "It is a pleasure and an honor to make your acquaintance. My friend here is called Marine, and I go the name of Glacier. We are twin cousins and have been BFF basically since we were babies."

"Excuse me", T'mara cut in, "but what is BFF and what is a twin cousin?"

"Let me explain – BFF is 'best friends forever'" the girl who called herself Glacier offered. "This is an expression from where we come from.. We have been so close for a long time that we sometimes kind of feel what the other thinks, and we cannot stand to be separated for long. In addition, we like to call ourselves twin cousins, because our mothers are identical twins and gave birth to us on the same day. So, we are not quite twins, but we fell and behave like twins. Some people also call us the Water-Ice twins."

"That is quite remarkable", I replied. "and you really look like sisters at least. Do you have any relatives around, or do you live in 'Honorhall Orphanage'?"

The other girl, Marine, laughed: "Neither. Do you really think we'd want to live in the rathole orphanage with that bitch of a woman? 'Grelod the Kind' she is called; if I was there, I'd probably dispose of her!"

It was quite obvious that Marine had a somewhat rougher way of talking than Glacier had. Whuile I could understand her feelings, I needed to correct her:

"I agree with your assessment of Grelod's character, though not necessarily with your choice of words. However, I would like to point out that Grelod is no longer in charge of the Riften orphanage, but Constance Michael is. Grelod suffered from a somewhat unfortunate heart attack when we kindly asked her to change her attitude."

"Holy shit" Glacier shouted, "you killed her? Are you now an assassin and a member of the Dark Brotherhood?"

I shook my head: "To be honest, we did not really kill her, but she really suffered from a heart attack. However, the Dark Brotherhood somehow got wind of that and abducted me a few days later. I was not in a mood to do what they wanted and refused to join them."

T'mara continued: "But now you should really explain what you are doing here and where you come from, I believe."

Glacier took over again: "Actually, we came from a place very far away. You probably will find it hard to believe, but we are not from Nirn at all."

T'mara raised her brows: "How can you be not from Nirn?"

Glacier continued: "Well, we were raised in a world where this world here is part of a computer game, and just last year we were somehow waking up close to Helgen rather than at home in Georgia. Do not ask us how this is possible, but for my friend this is like a dream coming true!"

"What is a computer game?" I did not understand and was curious.

Glacier shrugged her shoulders: "Difficult to explain – it's like you can visualize another world and pretend to be there and interact with people. It's almost like an extended dream, and you can continue that dream and influence it each time you kind of sleep. Anyway, we both have this game about Skyrim, but I played it a lot less than my friend. Now we are trying to find out if the real Skyrim is similar, and it seems to be. Well, it looks like we are stuck here, although I don't have a clue why we got to sleep in our home and woke up in Riverwood."

Marine added: "Anyway, actually being here is almost like a dream come true!"

Glacier commented: "Not quite so much for me, though. Contrary to my twin sister, I am less of a fighter, but prefer to read and talk instead. Also, we are not so much used to the cold, and I am cold most of the time! Why can't we be in southern Cyrodiil or Elsweyr rather than in Skyrim?"

T'mara and I looked at each other, finding this story somewhat hard to believe. I asked the girls: "Are you sure that you're not just making this up? Maybe you are running a fever or so?"

Glacier smiled and replied towards my wife: "Before you were recognized as Dragonborn, Farengar asked you to get the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow. Later on, when you had met the Greybeards, they asked you to get the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller from Ustengrav, but rather than the horn you just found a note there, suggesting that you rent the attic room in the Riverwood inn. Do I need to go on?"

T'mara looked at me again and could not really hide her surprise. She carefully said: "Well, it appears that you have got a point here. There's no way who could know all that, so that you must be right about the dream or game or whatever, I guess. Now, what do we do with you?"

Glacier smiled again: "Now as we are here, we might as well join you. We are sooooo curious to see what you will do next! You see, the Dragonborn is kind of a legend for us..."

I was not so sure about that, though: "Skyrim is not really an environment for two girls to gallivant around; there are many dangers, like animals, bandits, dragons, draugr and such. You should probably more look for an occupation in one of the cities, like here in Riften."

Marine did not fully agree: "We are not so helpless! I can fight, and my friend has learned how to use a bow and she is real good with words. We can be of assistance!"

"Well", T'mara smiled, "this I'd like to see. Specifically, how can being good with words help you to survive? East of Riften, there are a few bandit camps. Why don't we go there tomorrow and assess your skills. Based on what we see, we can decide on your future later – what do you think?"

"Splendid!" Glacier now called out. "Thank you indeed for your kinds words, and my friend and I will do our best to reciprocate your kindness. May I please also ask if you have a guestroom here we could use for the night; our supply of septims has been running a little low lately, unfortunately."

The young redguard certainly had a refined way of talking, and we offered our guestroom for the two girls.

After breakfast in the next morning, we merrily walked out of Riften's southwest gate, following the road along the lake. While slowly walking for a couple of hours, we were occasionally picking flowers and catching butterflies, and Glacier was quite interested to learn about those alchemical ingredients and their effects. When we reached a bridge, I warned the girls that highwaymen were sometimes lurking around those bridges. Marine just smiled and asked that we allow her and her friend to proceed ahead of us. Soon Marine was hiding in the bushes and crawling forward, while Glacier was slowly crossing the bridge, looking totally unconcerned; T'mara and I hid under an invisibility spell. A highwayman was actually there, and he approached Glacier, seeing her as easy target, saying: "Hand over all of your valuables, or else…!"

Glacier replied indignantly: "My good sir, I have not heard the word 'please' here – where and how were you raised?"

The bandit was confused – he had expected the girl to be frightened and maybe trying to run away, but not engaging in conversation. He raised his shortsword and tried again: "Just hand over your septims!"

Glacier still did not accommodate him: "Why should I do this? Do I look like I am on a mission of charity? Also, you may want to look behind you, as my friends do not appear to be quite happy with your impolite behavior!"

The highwayman fell for the trick and whirled around, just to see nobody at all on the road in that direction. This turn gave Marine, who had been hiding in the bushes, the chance to leap up, and approach the highwaymen with a set of somersaults. Almost quicker that we were able to observe she had a dagger at the bandit's throat.

Glacier laughed and announced: "Considering the situation, you may want to consider handing over your valuables now, what do you think?"

The poor highwayman clearly was not used to such a situation, and after a couple of attempts to free himself which resulted in feeling the dagger even closer to his throat, he gave in and threw his purse to the ground. Marine released him and he was gone, running away as quickly as he could.

T'mara admitted, while laughing: "I do understand now that being good with words can actually help you to survive, at least when you have backup; thank you for demonstrating that!"

After that display T'mara and I had to admit that those two girls were quite good, although they might have real problems when encountering a group of bandits rather than a single one. We invited them back to our home and continued to talk. T'mara asked:

"What did you two have in mind for your future? Any specific plans?"

Marine nodded: "Well, my friend might actually prefer to find a nice place in a city and become an alchemist or so, but I sure want to work on my fighting and magic skills and kick ass. Best would probably be to spend some time in the College of Winterhold, I guess, and maybe later with the Companions. Whatever we do, though, we want to stay together."

I smiled: "Quite ambitious, aren't you? However, my wife and I are going to travel to Winterhold again soon, and if you want, you can come with us. We can get you in, at least, and Tolfdir is going to be happy to get more students, I guess. How good are your magic skills?"

Glacier admitted: "Not great, unfortunately. We have so far focused on surviving and fighting, and nobody was willing to help much with magic learning. We both know basic self healing and a low level flame, but that's about it. And yes, we know that spell tomes are available for sale, for instance from the court wizards, but they charge way too much for us."

Looking at T'mara for confirmation, I told the girls: "All right, so you are with us when we go back to Winterhold. Let's Tolfdir have a look and find out what you can learn from him and the other mages there."

Also", Glacier continued, "We might be able to give you some hints on specific talks and quests. For instance, when you get to Blackreach, we can help you find your way, but you'd have to take us with you for that."

T'mara looked at me and we had to admit that we did not know anything about a place called Blackreach.

"That's all right", Glacier replied and smiled. "Just please recall that we would not mind at all to explore that place with you when the time is there, and maybe some other places as well."

I nodded and said: "Why don't we discuss that topic when it comes up; but we will certainly keep your proposal in mind. For now, why don't you make yourselves comfortable here and take the guestroom. My wife and I have some business to attend to, and depending on what we learn tonight, we might travel back to Winterhold as early as tomorrow."

Outside T'mara looked at me, not sure what I had meant about the business to attend to, and I explained: "Why don't we visit M'lissa and find out if there is a decision yet. The two girls do not need to know about that yet."

T'mara grinned and said: "Oh yes, true. They know a lot about what we are doing, but maybe not quite all."

After traversing the Ratway and entering the 'Ragged Flagon', we first met Brynjolf and chatted with him for a few minutes. M'lissa had seen us and joined us at our table soon, telling us:

"We have discussed your business proposal and we agree. If you are willing to pay a lump sum of 5000 septims, we will execute the discussed task with due care. However, preparations will take some time, and it may be a few weeks before we can get back to you with results."

I smiled and nodded: "That's perfectly all right for us. Please send a courier to the College of Winterhold when you have something. Here is the payment in advance." With those words I placed a big coin purse on the table.

After more chatting, I recalled that I had planned to talk to Vex about Isabelle Rolaine, friend of Ranmir in Winterhold. Fortunately Vex had just entered the Flagon and was now sitting down enjoying a just of mead or so. While T'mara continued to talk to M'lissa and Brynjolf, I joined Vex at her table and asked:

"Vex, I hope that you don't mind me talking to you. In Winterhold I met a guy called Ranmir, and he was grieving about the disappearance of an Isabelle Rolaine. Rumors have it that you might know something about it. Care to talk about it?"

Vex looked up and nodded: "That's all right – it's no secret. Isabelle Rolaine showed up some time ago and wanted to earn some money. I did not think that she was good enough for the guild, but she insisted on getting some advice, and finally I pointed her towards 'Hobs Fall Cave'. I expected her to get back to Winterhold and Ranmir after that, but have not heard from her. I would not be surprised to learn that she overestimated her own capabilities and succumbed to bandits. Yes, I'd appreciate if you'd look for her when you have some time."

I nodded: "Thank you for telling me, Vex. Maybe we will have a look there on our way back to Winterhold. Have a good evening, and Good Bye."

With those words I moved back to the other table, where my wife was still chatting with M'lissa and Brynjolf. Soon we were getting tired and excused ourselves, and on the way back to our lovely home I informed T'mara about the news from Vex.

Back at 'Honeyside' we asked the girls if they were ready to start traveling to Winterhold tomorrow, and Marine agreed right away. Glacier, though, who had moved herself quite close to the fireplace, commented: "If we are to travel to one of the coldest area in Skyrim, I absolutely need warmer clothes, please! Or maybe, on second thought, maybe we could travel to the warm lands of Elsweyr instead?"

"The border is closed, and you'd probably be captured and arrested!" I smiled. I understood the situation, though, and knew that the cold climate of Skyrim, particularly in the northern regions, was challenge for everybody who was not a Nord. Thus I suggested: "Well, why don't we first go to our main home, Riverside Lodge, and get some equipment there, and move on the Winterhold from there – would that be all right?"

Glacier nodded, somewhat relieved, but Marine asked: "Riverside Lodge? Where is that?"

I joked: "Was this not part of your game? Riverside Lodge is my main home, north of Riverwood, halfway down the river to Whiterun. I inherited the place from an uncle, and I love it."

Marine mumbled something like: "Must be one of those stupid player home mods, I guess..."

I still did not really understand the point of Skyrim being a 'game', but certainly the girls knew some details they should not have known. On the other hand, as we had just learned they did not know everything.

We all went to bed and hoped to be well rested tomorrow.

_[Author's Note: I hope that you like the concept of the twin cousins meeting my heroes. They will not join us in all adventures, but only some of them. I know that there are other stories on people from our planet being magically transported to Skyrim, but those are mostly/partially written from the Earth person's POV, whereas I will strictly keep my 'Timotheus/Skyrim' POV.]_


	42. Chapter 42 - Traveling with the twin c

**Chapter 42: Traveling with the twin cousins**

_[30__th__of Rain's Hand__ – __4__th__of Second Seed 4E 202]_

Traveling with the two girls turned out to be a lot of fun. Glacier did not talk much, but when she opened her mouth, her words were well articulated and usually quite helpful and considerate. Marine, on the other hand, sometimes did not stop babbling, and frequently even cursed, which I did not like at all. I admonished her and clearly stated that I did not approve of cursing, and she replied: "What do you care – you are not my Dad!"

I had to tell her that while I wasn't, I still had a choice whom to select as travel companions, and if she wanted to travel with us, she'd have to show some restraint. That helped at least most of the time.

From Riften, we took the scenic road on the southern shore of Lake Honrich again, passing 'Snow-Shod Farm' and the bridge to 'Goldenglow Estate', traveling in the wonderful eternal Riften autumnal forest. When we passed the bridge, Marine asked with a smirk:

"Have you heard anything about a fire destroying three bee hives over there lately?"

I looked at her and replied: "Yes, indeed, some months ago something like that was reported, and rumors have it that the Thieves Guild may have been involved. I guess you know something about it?"

Marine nodded and grinned, which caused me to ask:

"Don't tell me that you had something to do with it?"

Marine grinned even more: "Maybe, maybe not" but refused to go into details.

When we moved on and saw a small group of deer in the distance, very close to the road, I tentatively asked:

"Glacier, I think that Marine mentioned earlier that you know how to handle a bow. Is that correct?"

Glacier replied: "I am not good with blades at all, but yes, I know how to use a bow. Would you allow me to get one of those deer?"

"Yes", I replied, "that was what I had in mind – we can take the meat with us for lunch or dinner. T'mara, would you lend your bow to Glacier, please?"

My wife handed her bow over to the young girl; she took it, prepared it, and slowly sneaked closer to the small flock of deer. At a reasonable distance she stopped and shot one arrow. The arrow hit a deer, but the animal was not dead yet and bolted. However, as it was severely wounded, it did not get far, and we soon caught up and killed it. Glacier returned the bow and said that the bow she had practiced with was lighter and that she needed more practice with this one.

"Not a problem", T'mara offered, "when we get to our home, I will pick a proper bow for you, and I know a few people who will assist in training you."

Soon we had passed the bridge where we had met the lone highwayman on the day before and proceeded in westerly direction. I had planned for us to get to Ivarstead today and stay there for the night, so that we could spend the next day crossing the hills. We took a small detour to 'Heartwood Mill' to say 'Hi' to Grosta and Gralnach, and we helped for a few minutes chopping wood. An hour or so later we ate a quick lunch opposite from 'Treva's Watch', and we all tried to find out how many bandits we could identify in the small fortress. T'mara saw more than we did, but she had her superb Khajiit eyes.

When the girls confirmed that they were ready to move on, we continued walking and enjoying the scenery and the nice weather. When the next attack happened in form of a small pack of wolves, we let the girls handle it. Marine managed quite nicely, but Glacier almost panicked when one wolf got close to her, and she received a deep bite in her right leg, making her cry with pain. She was too shocked to heal herself, so that T'mara did this for her. T'mara asked:

"How did you manage to survive Skyrim so far, if even a small pack of wolves gets you into trouble? What do you do when you encounter more dangerous animals, like a saber cat or a bear or two?"

"Well', Glacier admitted timidly, "we stayed in the cities most of the time, and when traveling, we either saved money for a carriage or joined a Khajiit caravan."

Yes, that explained the issue. While we talked a little more about the girls' earlier adventures, we soon hit the junction where we had to turn right from the main road towards Ivarstead. Once we had passed a small hill and approached the bridge leading into the town, Ivarstead was visible across the bridge, and Glacier sighed theatrically:

"Oh yes, the start of the seven thousand steps, leading up to the reclusive Greybeards in the legendary place known as High Hrothgar. I do envy you, you know, to have climbed the steps and visited the Greybeards..."

"Hey, you sound almost like Jarl Balgruuf now!" my wife laughed. "But seriously, if you want to go up at some time, we can do this together, although I doubt that you would like the snow, the cold, and the howling winds up there."

Glacier shivered and said: "Good point; if you want to go, I will wait in a cozy inn somewhere, preferably close to a fireplace!"

Wilhelm, the innkeeper, was visibly delighted to see us again, and when he noticed that we had two young girls with us, he smiled and said: "More milkdrinkers, I guess?"

Marine shouted at him: "Hey, no reason to insult us!" and then she looked at me and asked: "Aren't you offended by his statement?"

"Is that because he calls us 'milkdrinkers'?", I asked. "No, not at all. We have met Wilhelm quite a few times already, and we know each other. From him, this is not an offending remark at all, but rather some kind of joke. By the way, what are you going to drink? At your age, certainly not ale or mead, I hope!"

Turning to Wilhelm, I asked: "Which kind of drinks do you have for the girls? Juniperberry juice or snowberry juice maybe?"

Marine opted for the snowberry juice, while Glacier also got milk, like us. We were able to get two rooms, and we offered the deer meat we had with us to Wilhelm, provided he was willing to prepare part of it for us. We were still in mid afternoon, so that there as time enough to get started, and he took the deer into the kitchen right away.

For the next hour or so we walked around outside and took the tour through the town. We went to the bridge leading to the steps towards 'High Hrothgar', glimpsing up and admiring the view, with the steps disappearing into the clouds. We visited the 'Fellstar Farm' and talked with the farmer couple about the crops and their daughter's latest plans for life, and we chatted with Klimmek, who was still occasionally providing supplies to the Greybeards. While slowly walking around, Glacier asked:

"Have you ever pondered the fact that Klimmek apparently carries supplies up every month or so and is still alive?"

"What do you mean?" I asked back.

"Well, when you went up, which kind of dangerous animals did you encounter?"

"There were a few ice wolves, an occasional ice wraith, and this nasty frost troll on the overhang."

"Yes, exactly. And you went up together, didn't you?"

"Yes we did, but what's your point?"

"T'mara and you are young and strong, and you have had to fight your way up at least a few times. Klimmek is old and not very strong – how does he manage to get up there every month and not even show severe injuries?"

I thought about that and had to admit that she had a point:

"Good point, actually – I had not thought abut that. Maybe he has a charm keeping all beasts away from him, something with an effect like calm or 'Kyne's peace'?"

Glacier looked surprised and responded: "Yes, maybe it's something like that, indeed."

"Look, the Greybeards rely on somebody to bring up supplies. It would make sense for them to provide some kind of protection for their most loyal supplier, wouldn't it?"

"Got a point there, indeed!" Marine cut in. "Most be like that or one of those frigging Skyrim weird thingies."

When dusk was upon us, we went back to the inn and enjoyed our venison dinner, cooked from the deer we had taken with us. Both Marine and Glacier had to admit that it was prepared very well and complimented Wilhelm on his cooking. After dinner we sat together for an hour or so in the taproom, exchanging stories with Wilhelm, until we got tired enough to retire to our rooms.

At breakfast on the next day the two girls came out of their room later than we did, but of course they were younger and needed their sleep. We promised Wilhelm to show up again sooner or later and took the road south to soon turn right towards the taller hills. Before the road got into the snow area, though, Marine walked off road to the right, heading directly towards the lonely 'Alchemist Shack' which T'mara and I had also seen a long time ago. When I asked Marine why she took the detour, she replied:

"Just wanted to check if it looks like it does in the game. It kind of does, but it still makes me sad to find a journal indicating that somebody was probably killed."

"Yes", I agreed, "I feel the same. Let us hope that we never stop feeling something when people die!"

Soon after getting into the hills we saw a small group of Imperials fighting a troop of Stormcloaks, but they did not pay any attention to us, so that we managed to pass them without incident. Glacier asked:

"Have you decided yet if you will take the Imperial side or rather the Stormcloak side? Have you pondered the advantages and disadvantages each side will provide, or do you go by gut feeling on that?"

T'mara looked at me, unsure on how to answer, and I replied for her:

"No, we have not yet really decided that. On one hand, the Imperials almost executed my wife at Helgen, although this does not necessarily reflect overall Imperial attitude, but just the acting of a few of them, misguided by the Thalmor. But the Imperials represent the legal government, backed by the Cyrodiilic empire. On the other hand, Ulfric seems to have good and commendable intentions, such as making Talos worship legal again, but he seems to be quite a racist, discriminating against Dunmer and Argonians. For the time being at least we prefer to stay neutral."

"Good choice" Marine put in, "although I usually took one side quickly when I played. This always gave me the opportunity to kill and loot people without getting a bounty."

When she saw the worried look in T'mara's eyes she quickly added: "Do not worry, I only did this when playing. My real life attitude is different, believe me!"

A couple of hours later we approached Helgen, and when we got close, T'mara and I chose the narrow path circumventing the town on the northeastern side rather than facing the bandits who had occupied the place by now, as usual. When we walked downhill towards Riverwood later on, Glacier started to talk:

"I may be mistaken about that, but there is a good chance that the bandits in Helgen are not real bandits, but just people pretending to be bandits. Their real motivation may actually be honorable, and it might be somewhat worthwhile to talk to them."

"Well", I replied, not even bothering to ask why she might suspect that, "if they pretend to be bandits, they will not want to talk to us, right?"

"Yes, true", Glacier admitted, "but if I am right, you will find a guy called 'Marcus Jannus' in the inn in Falkreath. Just check next time you are in Falkreath, and if he is there, you got a starting point just by talking to him. If you cannot find him there, it's either the wrong time or this event does not happen here."

A couple of hours later we got close Riverwood, and Glacier started to sigh: "It's so nice to finally be here in Riverwood. This is such a quaint town, and almost nothing ever happens here, except for Delphine of course..."

She looked at us, unsure how to proceed, and I confirmed with a smile: "Yes, we know about Delphine, and I guess we don't tell you something you don't know already by saying that she is a Blade."

While passing through the village, we met the Bosmer Faendal; T'mara and I greeted him and exchanged a few words. Later on, once we had crossed the bridge north of Riverwood, Glacier asked:

"Did you have this issue about both Faendal and Sven courting Camilla and trying to write fake letters?"

T'mara shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what the girl talked about, but I laughed and replied: "I know what you mean, yes. This was years before I met my wife, and yes, both Faendal and Sven wanted me to give Camilla fake letters to win her over. I collected both letters and told Camilla the truth. Nowadays they are all good friends again, but none of them managed to win her heart, at least as far as I know."

Marine grinned and asked me: "Were you never tempted to go for her? She is quite pretty, isn't she?"

I laughed and responded: "Oh, tempted I was, true, a few times. But although she really is pretty, my heart never spoke."

Glacier sighed again: "When I played the game, I always decided in favor of Faendal. He looks so handsome, and I enjoyed getting him as follower early on. I used to have him improve my archery skill and, well, I liked to have him around."

While talking about the various residents of Riverwood, we soon reached the small bridge which lead to Riverside Lodge, and we lead the girls over. Outside we already met Jordis, who was currently here together with Iona and maintaining the place for us; she was happy to see us. The two girls seemed to recognized her, greeted her by name and then turned towards T'mara and me:

"Meeting Jordis here means that one of you managed to become Thane of Solitude – right?"

I smiled and replied: "True, and inside you will also meet Iona from Riften; they currently take care of the house for us."

As the weather was pleasant, we sat down with Iona and Jordis on the nice porch around the table, and Iona served a wonderful supper. Glacier sighed:

"You know, this is nice and relaxing here – I wish I could stay for a few days and rest!"

T'mara smiled: "Yes, this is quite a nice home, and I am glad that you like it. You know, we are not on a tight schedule, and there is no reason for us to start traveling to Winterhold tomorrow. Actually, I am a little curious about the guy who might wait in Falkreath for us, and I am tempted to check this out."

I commented: "Hm – maybe we could detour to Falkreath for a few days, with Glacier staying here. She needs warmer clothes anyway, and I am sure that Iona and Jordis can help her find something. Marine, would you also like to stay or would you rather go to Falkreath with us?"

Marine had already made her decision: "There is is no frigging way I am going to miss Marcus in Falkreath. I want to see how he looks in reality, and if you don't mind, I will be coming with you for sure. Glacier and I are almost exactly the same size – she can pick a few warm clothes for me as well."

Once I had warned Marine – again – about her choice of words when she was with us, T'mara confirmed and summarized:

"Then this is settled. Marine, Tim, and myself will leave tomorrow after breakfast, and we should be back a few days later. Iona, Jordis, please help Glacier find proper furs for herself and her twin cousin – she is welcome to help herself to our spares, and we don't want to her to freeze to death when we travel north again."

The next morning saw the three of us happily marching south again. In order to get to Falkreath, T'mara and I had decided to take a shortcut by first walking towards Lake Ilinalta, and then hike south from the shore to meet the main road again close to 'Pinewatch'; this allowed us to skip Helgen for now.

Marine was again quite talkative, and while we were walking, she told us some stories from her earlier life, away from Nirn. We did not really understand everything, specifically when she started to talk about 'phones' and 'cars' and 'computers' and other stuff like that. However, she had a funny and entertaining way of talking, and we reached Pinewatch without being bored a single time. Just after Pinewatch, though, the overpass further down the road was taken over by bandits again, as we could see when looking ahead from a distance. I sighed and told my companions:

"I simply do not understand why the Jarl of Falkreath tolerates bandits so close to this city. Let me handle that with my crossbow."

This being said, I quickly killed the two visible bandits with crossbow bolts, so that we could pass unhindered, soon walking down towards the city of Falkreath. Same as most other places in Skyrim, of course it did not really earn being called a 'city', despite being the main settlement in Falkreath Hold. We entered the local inn 'Dead Man's Drink' and asked the innkeeper if she had seen a man calling himself 'Marcus Vannus'. She nodded and told us that this man had arrived few days ago and seemed to be staying in his room most of the time. We knocked at the door and entered the room, seeing Marine smiling – obviously she recognized him.

When he looked at us with raised brows, T'mara hastened to explain:

"Let me introduce us. The girl is Marine, the big Nord is Timotheus, my husband, and I am called T'mara. It just so happened that people call me Dragonborn as well. I have obtained some information telling me that you might be looking for me."

The man was quite confused now: "How is it possible that you know I might be looking for you when I have not even finished writing the letter I was about to hand over to a courier?"

"Well", I added, "the young girl here is some kind of seer, and sometimes she dreams of events which may happen in the future."

We had decided earlier that being a seer was a more plausible explanation than being not from Nirn and knowing abut Skyrim from some kind of game, and we wanted to stick to that story when talking to other people we did not know that well. Marcus Vannus looked like he was not sure if he should believe me:

"This is a rare gift. Can she also see where I would want to send the Dragonborn to?"

Marine smiled and nodded:

"Yes, she can. You want us to go to Helgen and try to find your old friend 'Valerius Tiberius'. He and you fought against the Thalmor before in Cyrodiil, and you suspect the bandits in Helgen to be he and his team."

Now Marcus' jaw was hanging down, and he was quiet for a few minutes, before he said:

"Nobody could have known that, so I guess that you're a kind of seer indeed. Are you guys willing to help me and go there?"

"That's what we are here for" T'mara agreed. "How will Valerius recognize that you sent us?"

Marcus Vannus replied:

"You can take my ring which Val will for sure recognize, and I will write a letter for him. Give me an hour or so to write the letter and come back, will you?"

We all nodded and left him to his task of writing the letter. Outside I looked at Marine and told her: "This is really amazing; it looks like this particular event is about to happen as you anticipated. Will this go on like that?"

Marine shrugged and replied: "Maybe, maybe not. Glacier is better educated in science than I am, and she told some time ago that even while some events start as planned, small changes can trigger deviations later on. For instance, a certain character may be supposed to defeat bandits, but stumbles by accident and gets himself killed. If that person had an integral part in some later task, things will likely happen in a different way. Thus, my predictions may sometimes be correct, but not so at other times, and we better don't rely on them."

That was much more refined speaking than what we were used to hear from the girl; maybe she had just repeated what Glacier had told her.

Slightly more than one hour later we returned to Marcus' room at the inn. He handed us his ring and the letter, and we happily walked in the direction of Helgen. A couple of hours later the southwestern gate was in front of us. While we managed to silently unlock and open it, we were quickly surrounded by grim looking men once we had entered the courtyard. One of them growled and told us:

"Coming here was the last mistake you'll ever make!"

I had to admit that the were quite good in their roles, as this was one of the standard phrases I had heard before from bandits. Sometimes I wondered if there was something like a 'Bandits Guild', and you could only become a member if you learned phrases like that one? Anyway, before I could reply properly, Marine shouted in a provocative way:

"Or it could be your last mistake instead!"

Just before the men were going to attack, I shouted out:

"Hold on – we need to talk to Valerius Tiberius!"

They hesitated, and the speaker replied angrily:

"There is no such person here in Helgen."

I continued:

"Yes, there is, and I have a letter from him as well as the ring from one of his best friends. He will want to read the letter!"

The closest 'bandit' was getting interested and asked to see the ring, and T'mara handed it over.

"By god", the bandit uttered, "who does the ring belong to?"

"We got it from a man who calls himself 'Marcus Vannus'", I told him.

The man was quiet for a few seconds, and then he told us:

"Follow us into the keep, and do not make any trouble – got me?"

A few flights of stairs down in the keep – T'mara told us excitedly that she recognized the area from the earlier events in Helgen – we met another man who took the ring and asked for the letter. When he had read the first few sentences, he dismissed his warriors, saying:

"The letter seems to be genuine, and judged by the way it is written it must be from my old friend Marcus, indeed. If he trusts those three, we can trust them as well. Dismissed!"

Ten minutes later Valerius had read the entire letter, and he sighed:

"This poor fool actually thinks that he needs to find me. But he may be right; the two of us should work together again."

Turning to us again, he said:

"Can you two do me a favor and bring Marcus here? I cannot leave right now, but he is welcome to come here. Thank you, by the way, for bringing his letter and ring to me."

We replied that we would gladly to this and returned to Falkreath right away. As it was already the beginning of the night, we quickly told Marcus what we had achieved and also took rooms for the night.

One day later Marcus seemed to be eager to get on the road, as we was already done with his breakfast when we just started eating. I tried to slow him down a little:

"Come on, man, walking to Helgen only takes a couple of hours; we will be there early enough to meet your friend!"

We did not allow ourselves to be hastened and took our time to enjoy what had been served by Narri, the inn's servant. On the road leading east out of Falkreath, we met a group of hunters who told us that a lone werewolf had been recently been seen in the hold. At first I thought about the Companions, but they were, as far as I knew, smart enough to not be seen, and they almost always hunted in pairs or larger groups.

Despite hiking uphill for most of the time, we walked quickly to keep up with Marcus, who showed a lot of stamina considering his advanced age. Soon enough we reached the gate to Helgen, where a couple of guards recognized us from the day before and guided us into the keep.

The greeting between Marcus and Valerius was quite a sight, and we were happy that we had contributed to that. Expecting that they'd need a long time to talk to each other, I suggested to my companions:

"Come on, let's leave them and go home; we are certainly not needed her any longer, at least for now. We can get back at a late time and see how they are doing."

As the day was still young, we went back to Riverside Lodge, where we found out that Glacier had been able to get proper winter clothes for herself and for her twin sister, assisted by Iona and Jordis.

_[Author's Note: I am starting to add some content from the great mod 'Helgen Reborn' by Mike Hancho here; IMO this is one the best quest mods available for Skyrim and superbly done. Of course it is not really logical to find Marcus in Falkreath right at that time, but quite a few issues and events defy logic when one plays Skyrim.]_


	43. Chapter 43 - A warm and happy Glacier

**Chapter 43: A warm glacier means a happy Glacier **

_[5__th__ – __9__th __of Second Seed 4E 202]_

Glacier claimed that she was ready now to face the low temperatures in Winterhold. We decided to rest for one day and start our trip early in the morning on the day after. The rest of the day was filled with stories from all of us, and checking our equipment. In particular, T'mara showed Glacier our selection of bows; we found a 'Nord Hero Bow', which basically was an 'Ancient Nord Bow' improved in the Skyforge. It was very lightweight, but almost as strong as a 'Dwarven Bow', and Glacier claimed to love it immediately. We also got her a quiver with 'Steel Arrows', telling her that those could easily be replaced later with loot arrows found in all kind of places.

I handed Marine a set of 'Ebony Daggers', and she was grateful for those. As Glacier and Marine now both had new warm fur armor, that was all we needed for now, and after a relaxing day at home we went to bed, mentally preparing for our upcoming trip which we planned to embark on early tomorrow.

The weather did not really cooperate with our plans, and a light drizzle came down from a cloudy sky. Fortunately, as were in the month of 'Second Seed' already, temperatures were not too bad. As we were not in a hurry at all, we took our time, stopping for a few minutes at interesting places and sometimes taking our time to chat with people. Going north, we soon passed the 'Chillfurrow Farm' and the 'Battle-Born Farm' as well as the 'Whitewatch Tower' and the 'Loreius Farm', until we eventually got into colder regions and encountered the first isolated snow spots on the road. Once we met another road and turned east towards 'Nightgale Inn', Glacier suddenly found herself facing an Ice Wraith, and only her thick fur armor prevented her from getting frozen. She yelped: "What in Oblivion is that?"

T'mara helped out with a quick fireblast, and once the beast had been slain, my wife told her: "That was an Ice Wraith, my dear. For fighting such enemies a strong fireblast really helps!"

"Yes, so I have noticed now", Glacier admitted meekly. "I am really good for nothing here, I am afraid."

We assured her that not everybody could be a great fighter and proceeded to walk towards the inn. Before we got there, though, T'mara spotted a few bandits lurking close to the entrance of the tomb known as 'Silverdrift Lair', probably waiting for easy prey on the road. She turned to Glacier and suggested, trying to encourage her:

"That's your chance to whittle them down with your bow!"

Glacier beamed, got her bow ready and switched into sneak mode. Finding cover behind a tree she started sending arrows, and it took five or six arrows until the bandits found out from which direction the attack came. One of them got close to the next tree, searching for us, but Marine had been waiting and cut the bandit's throat with a swift move, using one of her ebony daggers. The remaining bandit was tall and strong and clad in tough Nordic armor, and he was not so easily defeated. Arrows did very little damage to his health, and he kept his distance from Marine's daggers, raising a huge warhammer and threatening:

"Coming here was the last mistake you will ever make!"

Hearing the standard phrase again, I almost smiled. I decided to accept the challenge and stepped in front of Marine, greatsword drawn. Although the bandit chief was not small, I still towered over him. We circled around each other for a short time, and when he attacked, I quickly stepped to the side. Due to the very heavy weapon he held he could not change his angle of attack as quickly as he wanted, and I managed to bring my own weapon down on him, cutting of his head in one huge swing.

Marine and Glacier looked at me in awe, and I bowed before them. Just to make sure that they understood properly I said:

"Please do not believe that I enjoy killing people like this. However, being in Skyrim and helping the Dragonborn, my lovely wife, to do her job properly, I better keep practicing my fighting skills."

Half an hour later we got to the inn, and although the day was not over yet, we got ourselves rooms and enjoyed a few hours in the main taproom, with milk, juice, and venison stew. When our stomachs were full, T'mara asked Glacier:

"Glacier, tell us, have you been cold today?"

Glacier smiled and warmly replied: "No, not at all – thank you so much for the nice and warm fur armor!"

T'mara smiled and added: "I am glad to hear that. It's not only the armor itself, though; it has an additional enchantment to ward off the cold and reduce damage to frost attacks. I had hoped that this might work for you. But I wonder about something else: Where did you get your name from, seeing that you don't really have an affinity to ice and cold?"

Glacier sighed and replied: "I have been asked that before. I do not know why my parents had decided on my name, but in hindsight it must have been mocking."

One day later we resumed our walk and planned to get to Winterhold before dusk. We had traveled from the inn to Winterhold or the other direction before, but we had so far always sneaked around 'Fort Kastav'. This time T'mara and I decided that the fort would be another good chance to test the girls' fighting skills, and before we got close, we discussed our strategy. After all, we had noticed before that some bad guys had chosen this fort as temporary residence, and we did not know exactly how strong they were. First I asked the girls:

"If you were in charge, how would you attack the fort?"

Marine suggested: "It might be a good idea to lure out the bad guys one by one, so that we don't have to attack them all at once."

"Good point", I nodded, "but that is not sufficient. We may get lucky, but usually people tend to notice when an attack takes place."

Glacier offered: "Those of us who are proficient with a bow could find a place where they cannot be easily detected and start shooting from there."

"Yes", I nodded, "this is what my wife and I have already done before in similar situations, and I like the idea. Where would you place an archer?"

The girls looked around, and Glacier soon suggested: "If we can get one person up on the hill opposing the fort across the road, no enemy will easily be able to get up there without a significant detour. The hills to the south also looks good, but it might be difficult to get there without being detected."

"You seem to have a feeling for that", I praised her, "and indeed, the northern hills look much more suitable. I think that we should also place an archer on the road further to the northeast, to shoot from a different angle of attack. Who is agile enough to climb the hill?"

The girls were not sure, so that T'mara did that. While she was starting to climb, I took the girls and we sneaked around the fort, following the road in easterly direction until we were out of easy bow range. Brand and Pammy were with us, and Edric, my wife's griffin familiar, flew up to scout the area from above. A quarter of an hour later T'mara had found a proper spot and started releasing arrows into the fort. I had my own crossbow ready and told Glacier to be prepared with her bow; Marine was now hidden behind a few rocks closer to the fort, and Bran and Pammy stayed close to her. It did not take long before until we saw a few skeletons emerge from the fort, heading slowly in our direction while looking around and searching for us, Once I had nodded to Glacier, she eliminated them one by one with her bow before they had a chance to get closer. Next a couple of conjurers came up, raising a ward against the arrows. I started to send bolts with my crossbow and Glacier continued shooting as well, while T'mara sent arrows into the fort's interior courtyard. Nonetheless, one of the well warded conjurers made it close to us, but had not seen Marine behind her rock in time; the girl came up behind the conjurer and quickly killed him off with one of her ebony daggers. Now I sent Bran and Pammy ahead and waved to the girls to follow me, while we slowly proceeded towards the fort. Quite a few more enemies were still concentrated in the courtyard, and we continued to whittle them down from behind cover.

Eventually, though, a group of three necromancers noticed where we were and proceeded towards us more quickly than I had expected, so that I had to drop my crossbow and get the greatsword out. As I could easily wield it with one hand, I had the other hand free for a spell and send a continuous flameblast against the one enemy who attacked me. Looking to the side for a moment I saw Bran and Pammy helping the girls. It did not take me long to overcome the necromancer who had picked me, but another conjurer now started to send nasty frost spikes in our direction; this enemy was located on a small tower controlling the courtyard from the East, and we could not quickly get there. Above and beyond that, poor Glacier by now looked almost completely frozen with frost spikes and was unable to move, while Marine managed to keep her position and dodge most of the attacks.

This was the time Edric selected to attack, and on a quick rush downwards he picked the evil conjurer on the tower, so that the long distance spell attacks stopped right away. This gave me the chance to kill the bad guy who was threatening Glacier, and Bran and Pammy now helped Marine to get rid of her attackers. For now, no further attacks came and we could rest for a moment, so that I checked how Glacier was doing. As she was almost completely encased in ice, I started to thaw her out, and once I managed to do that, also cast a healing spell. As soon as she could talk again, she uttered:

"I am fine, thank you. This enchanted fur armor is really incredible, and it sure prevented me from freezing to death."

We also quickly looked into the fort's interior, which was called 'Captain's Quarters' for some reason, and we found quite some valuable loot. I promised to help the girls selling some of it in Winterhold and allowing them to keep the money.

After a short break and double checking for potential further injuries, we continued our trip to Winterhold once more. When we had reached the neighborhood of 'Stillborn Cave' and could look over snow and ice fields towards the 'Sea of Ghosts', Glacier stopped, taking in the vista, and she sighed:

"This looks so bright and peaceful. If it wasn't so cold, I might actually enjoy the scenery."

"I am not so sure about the 'peaceful' part, Glacier;" I objected, pointing to the East, "have you noticed the two frost trolls down the road over there?"

"What?" the young girl yelped and looked around frantically.

"I do not think that they have noticed us yet" T'mara offered. "Why don't you two go ahead and show us what you can do?"

Glacier was not so sure about it, but Marine prodded her forward. The two girls discussed their best approach quickly, and Glacier prepared to use her bow. As they were not close to the two frost trolls at all, the two beasts did not immediately notice where the arrows were coming from. One of them staggered in our direction, and Marine found a place on a rock which allowed her to throw her daggers. When she had expended most of her daggers, she blasted her fireball spell against the closest frost troll, and the combination of arrows, daggers, and spell finally overcame the troll's healing ability. The other frost troll, though, was only scratched so far and came closer. Marine had only a couple of daggers left and was almost out of magicka, but Glacier now also used a fireball spell. Both girls managed to stay out of the troll's attack range and continued with fireball casting, a few times supported by drinking a potion of 'Restore Magicka'. Precise throwing of her last two daggers allowed Marine to finish off the second troll as well, but just barely.

However, with the limited resources they had, both girls had done quite a good job, and I told them so. They should soon get another chance to show their abilities – as soon after we had passed 'Whistling Mine', a dragon decided to show up. We could hear the beast's roaring from a distance already, which allowed us to discuss strategy beforehand. Marine had collected all her daggers after the fight with the frost trolls, and both girl's magicka pool was filled again, small as it was. T'mara had educated the girls about finding out first about the dragon being either a fire dragon or a frost dragon and aligning spells and attack strategy accordingly. Fortunately, the loot in 'Fort Kastav' had included a spell tome of frost, so that the twin cousins now also had a basic frost spell available.

Eventually the dragon swooped down on us and blew fire from its snout. All of us quickly reacted with a frost spell, and in addition T'mara shouted 'FO'. We all managed to hit the dragon, and it reacted by shouting something in Dragon language which I did not quite understand. Following some kind of flight pattern, the dragon came back a minute later, and this time I had my crossbow ready with a bolt of ice. When it was hit by the bolt plus a series of frost blasts, the beast crashed down on the ice to the east of us, and Marine shouted:

"Is it dead yet?"

"No," I replied "keep your distance – a dragon can be almost as deadly on the ground as in the air! Those with ranged weapons please use them!"

Of course, on the ground the dragon was much more clumsy, and I continued to shoot my bolts, while T'mara and Glacier followed my example and had their bow ready. Despite the barrage of bolts and arrows the beast managed to rise into the air once more, but soon crashed down again. I encouraged my companions:

"One more round of frost spells, please!"

They all complied, and I followed with a couple of more bolts until the beast was finally dead. After T'mara had absorbed the dragon soul, she told the twin cousins:

"You have been a great help defeating the dragon – thank you!"

The girls high fived each other – we had been told that doing this was a habit from where they came from – and Marine commented: "Yeah – from now on we can call ourselves the 'Dovahtwins'!"

Glacier added: "You know, when that dragon blew fire close to me, this was almost comfortable, and I was getting so warm. Has anybody figured out how to use a dragon for heating?"

Once we had finished laughing, we proceeded on our way to Winterhold, and once the town was clearly visible, Marine commented:

"Wow, that really looks as bad as in the game, just a bunch of ruins."

I nodded and told her: "Yes, not much has been done about it. However, there are a few people in Winterhold willing to do something, and although this is not visible from a distance, we are planing to get a few more citizens in. I was hoping that a few Argonians might want to find a place for fishing down at the coast, for instance."

After entering the town, we first checked if 'Birna's Oddments' was still open, and as it was, I guided the girls inside and introduced them to Birna. She was happy to see me again and smiled at the girls, when we laid out all of the loot we had to offer:

"My, my, this is nice stuff you have for me. I am glad that you have not forgotten about me; let me get my septims out right now!"

As I had promised before, the girls got to keep the money, and we proceeded right towards the college. Faralda was in her usual place guarding the entrance and shouted:

"Welcome back Timotheus and T'mara! Whom do you have with you?"

"May I introduce Marine and Glacier; they are with us for the time being. Girls, this is..."

Marine interrupted me: "Faralda, senior wizard and master of destruction magic; yes, we know."

"Have we met before?" Faralda was curious. "But anyway, they need to show some magical skill before I can allow them to enter."

Both of the girls demonstrated that they were able to cast simple destruction spells at the testing circle on the ground, and Faralda let us pass. I lead the way to find Tolfdir and soon encountered him when he walked out of the Arcaneum. After the two girls had introduced themselves, Tolfdir beamed and said:

"Splendid – two more students! Do not worry about your lack of advanced magic skills for now; this is what the college is here for, and we will all help to teach you. Why don't you meet the other students for our early lessons tomorrow morning, and meanwhile let's try to find suitable rooms for you."

In the long distant past the college had had many more students and wizards than it had today, so that almost half of the rooms were unused. Tolfdir assigned two adjacent rooms in the students' quarters for Marine and Glacier, and T'mara and I showed them were they could get food. We also showed them our room and told them to not hesitate to ask use if they had questions. When the girls realized that T'mara and I were sharing the narrow bed, Marine smirked immediately, but Glacier did not get the point yet and asked us:

"How is it possible for the two of you to fit properly in that tiny bed? How can you both actually sleep there?"

Marine smirked even more and enlightened her twin cousin:

"Glacier, you do realize that there is sleeping and there is sleeping, and that those two lovebirds just got married barely half a year ago?"

It took the poor girl a few seconds to make the connection, and when she did, she looked very embarrassed. I assumed that she was happy about her dark skin, as the blush she probably had on her face was well hidden. T'mara and I could not help ourselves and we chuckled while looking at each other.

Later on, when we were alone, T'mara grinned and asked me: "So we are lovebirds; maybe I should start to do some pecking on you?"

For the early lesson on the next day, Tolfdir had planned to do one of his checks to find out how much progress each of the students had made by now; this would also be a good opportunity to introduce the two girls into the group.

Glacier with her very polite and distinguished way of talking managed to make friends immediately, while J'zargo found a soul mate in Marine. When he was boasting about his magic skills as usual, Marine used a few strong words to put him in his place. Rather than being upset about that, the Khajiit told her:

"The young pretty Redguard has spirit – J'zargo likes that. This one believes that she and he will work together very nicely, and J'zargo may teach her some of his skills."

Marine also seemed to like J'zargo, and later on Glacier told me:

"Marine always had a thing for Khajiit when playing, and apparently she is now curious to find out to what extent reality matched her expectations. Marine once actually told me that they look like grown up 'Hello Kitties'."

I failed to understand the reference, and Glacier did not elaborate further. I had another question, though:

"But you have met other Khajiit before, like Khajiit caravans and my wife – why the sudden interest now?"

"Well," Glacier explained "your wife is the Dragonborn. I don't think even Marine dares to bother her with too many questions. About the Khajiit caravans, Marine never got a chance to really bother them with too many questions either, as we needed them for protection. And most important, Marine always liked J'zargo when playing. Honestly, I think the two of them are quite a good match!"

Glacier found herself more drawn towards Brelyna, and soon I could hear them engaged in 'girl talk'. Hm, maybe I should fraternize with Onmund for boy talk? The problem was that I did not even know what boy talk could be. Most of my childhood had been spent with adults and older children in Cyrodiil, and when I had arrived in Skyrim, I had been on my own for some time, making friends later on with adults and younger kids, such as Mila in Whiterun and Dorthe in Riverwood. I had never had a chance to talk to other boys about girls, and I had almost considered myself a lost case in that direction before I had met T'mara. Well, I did not have to worry about girls in general any longer, I only needed to take care of a specific one, and I probably should not call her 'girl' too frequently, although she was nominally still a teenager.

At the end of the day I went outside for a quick walk together with my 'girl', and we could see Glacier running around happily. When she saw us, she approached, gave each of us a quick hug and a peck on the cheek and beamed:

"Thank you so much again for this wonderful enchanted fur armor. I so much enjoy being able to run around and play in the snow without being cold!"

Well, I guess a warm Glacier means a happy Glacier, indeed.

_[Author's Note: I hope that you liked this chapter with the twin cousins being around; please review if you did! For the next few chapters, they will mostly stay in the background, but I will get back to them later for sure.]_


	44. Chapter 44 - News from the Thalmor?

**Chapter 44: News from the Thalmor?**

_[10__th__of Second Seed – 11__th__of Midyear 4E 202]_

Of course we also took our time to talk to Lydia and Inigo; after all, they wanted to know more about the two girls, and we wanted to learn if they had managed to help Onmund in retrieving his family heirloom.

Lydia elaborated: "Oh, yes, that one. Well, it turned out to be not too difficult. We found Enthir's 'Grand Staff of Charming' without big problems, and Enthir gave back Onmund's amulet without hesitation when we returned. But without us, Onmund probably would not have managed. We really need to train the mage students in combat more frequently, so that they are getting used to survival under rough conditions out there."

"Yes, indeed, you are right," I replied, "but this should be up to Tolfdir and the other senior mages to decide."

For the next days and weeks, we fell back into an easy routine of learning and practicing, with a few idle days in between. Despite the cold, staying here at the college was nice, and besides some spells I did have my wonderful Khajiit wife to get warmed up. During that time we could see Marine talking a lot with J'zargo, and we understood that J'zargo wanted her to assist with testing some of his special and custom made spell scrolls. At one of those times Marine obviously was angrily complaining about something:

"Hey, you poor excuse for a Khajiit, your last spell scroll singed my hair and left some burns on my arms when I used it!"

"Ah. No, that was not supposed to happen. But... J'zargo is pleased to see that you are here, and not in pieces!"

"You better be pleased, and you owe me now!"

I got the feeling that those two were really a match for each other, and I could not help smiling when thinking about that. Later on I heard from Glacier that the Khajiit had to 'pay' by helping Marine to learn some other spells and also by serving as practice target for the girl's own spells multiple times.

Eventually, once we had spent a few nice weeks at the college, a courier came and brought news from M'lissa. Naturally, the message did not have any details, but she suggested to meet in Riverside Lodge a week from now. We were quite eager to learn if M'lissa had been able to achieve something regarding the planned raid of the Thalmor embassy, and thus we decided to leave for Whiterun day after tomorrow. The 'Dovahtwin' girls had just started their studies and so we left them here, same with Inigo and Lydia. However, it turned out that Nirya, the Altmer sorceress, also had business in Whiterun, and so we decided to travel together.

We did not have any other business in the area and actually managed to hire a carriage this time. In two days it took us easily to Whiterun without any major interruptions – no dragons, just a few unlucky bandits. We left Nirya to her tasks, which included visiting Farengar, and used the remaining few hours of daylight to walk to our cozy home, Riverside Lodge. M'lissa had not yet arrived, but we were welcomed by Jordis and Iona.

Only a few days later M'lissa came to our home, late in the evening. She was too tired to talk, but she gave us the news on the next day:

"First things first: Job done. Although it was not an easy task at all, a few of us managed to break into the Thalmor embassy, and they were only detected when they had collected all of what they needed and wanted. The Thalmor never found out what hit them, though, and we were never fully seen and identified."

M'lissa handed over a bag and continued: "The bag has all of the documents we found. This seems to be mostly dossiers on all kind of topics, like Ulfric, the Dragonborn, spies, and Talos worshippers. Interesting reading, I should guess. We found a lot of loot, and most of that has gone to the fences already. I have to admit that this job contributed a lot towards filling our coffins, and at least personally I was glad to rob the Thalmor. Let me know again when you have a similar job available!"

"Before I forget," the Khajiit added, "we also set a small number of prisoners free. One of them mumbled something about a guy called 'Esbern' who might be hiding in the Riften Ratway. Well, with me being in charge of the guild, I of course know of Esbern, and he has a room, more like a hiding place, deep down in the Ratway Warrens. If you want to visit him, just let me know and I will gladly guide you there."

T'mara and I spent a few hours browsing through the documents and dossiers. While M'lissa accepted our offer to rest for a day or two, we went to Riverwood to meet Delphine. After a leisurely walk and saying hello to some of our friends in Riverwood, we went into the inn and looked for Delphine. When she noticed that we had some news, she asked us down into her basement room, and then she asked:

"Got any news from the Thalmor?"

T'mara answered this: "Yes, we do. First things first: The Thalmor know nothing about the dragons."

"Really? That seems hard to believe. You're sure about that?"

"Why did you want us to get the information if you weren't going to believe us?"

"You're right, you're right. I just... I was sure it must have been them. If not the Thalmor, who? Or... what?"

"Actually, the Thalmor seem to be looking for someone named Esbern."

"Esbern? He's alive? I thought the Thalmor must have got him years ago. That crazy old man... Figures the Thalmor would be on his trail, though, if they were trying to find out what's going on with the dragons."

"What would the Thalmor want with Esbern?"

"You mean, aside from wanting to kill every Blade they can lay their hands on? Esbern was one of the Blades archivists, back before the Thalmor smashed us during the Great War. He knew almost everything about the ancient dragonlore of the Blades. Obsessed with it, really. Nobody paid much attention to him back then. I guess he wasn't as crazy as we all thought. Anyway, we've got to find Esbern before they do. He'll know how to stop the dragons if anybody does. Do they know where he is?"

"Yes, it appears that he may be hiding out in Riften, in the Ratway."

"OK – when you find Esbern... if you think I'm paranoid... you may have some trouble getting him to trust you. Just ask him where he was on the 30th of Frostfall. He'll know what it means."

I was curious now: "You do not want to come with us?"

"No," Delphine responded, "I am afraid that I might draw too much attention to us if I joined you for that. Can you meet me here again, please, when you have found Esbern?"

After looking at T'mara and seeing her nodding I agreed and we took our leave from Delphine. Outside of the inn Dorthe and Frodnar played with the boy's dog, and they happily waved towards us. We stayed a few minutes and chatted with them, and then we walked back to Riverside Lodge. As we enjoyed the early summer scenery with lots of flowers competing with each other, butterflies swirling around them, fish abundant in the river, and nice smells from grass, flowers, and trees all around, we took much longer than usual, but we were not in a hurry and happily ambulated in the nice summer afternoon, with Skyrim showing one of the best sides.

We managed to just arrive in time for supper, which we took on the porch. When M'lissa heard that we were actually planing to get to Riften, she said:

"Great – so let's travel to Riften together and delve deep into the Ratway Warrens. I have not been down there for quite some time, and maybe we will find some fun and adventure there together?"

"Maybe we will." I replied. "I would not be surprised at all to find out that the Thalmor got wind of his hiding place and also tried to get to Esbern. If they actually did, there might be a fight waiting for us!"

"Yes, but a fight does not exclude fun. The Thalmor better not try to infiltrate the 'Ragged Flagon' just to get to the Ratway Warrens!" M'lissa stated firmly. "If they try to do that, we will show them who is in control there, right?"

Very early in the next morning the three of us – M'lissa, Master of the Thieves Guild, T'mara, my lovely Khajiit wife and Dragonborn, and myself hurried towards the Whiterun stables to catch the morning carriage towards Riften. We found Sigaar, who had just delivered a few travelers from Riften on the day before and was eager to get back there. We had met him before, and he was quite happy to drive us again:

"Folks, happy to take you again. With you guys I know at least that I do not have to worry about bandits or dragons! Get right in, and we'll see how far we get today."

For most of the year the ride from Whiterun to Riften was done in two days, but in summer, when the sun was up for so long, carriage drivers sometimes left early in the morning and attempted to arrive in Riften just at dusk, at least when the carriage was not fully loaded. There were no other passengers, and consequently Sigaar asked:

"What do you think? Are you up for a full day tedious drive with late arrival, or would you rather take it easy and stop in Ivarstead overnight?"

We all opted for the first option and started off right away. Bran ran along, and Pammy and Edric were sometimes summoned to help scouting; with that kind of cover no bandit even tried to approach and we had an uninterrupted drive. Just before dusk we arrived in Riften, and we gave Sigaar some extra tip for his effort. We decided to search the Ratway Warrens on the next day, and once M'lissa went down towards the Guild quarters, T'mara and I retired to our comfortable bed in 'Honeyside'.

Well rested after a relaxed sleep together, we made our way to the 'Ragged Flagon' early in the next morning, quickly traversing the Ratway passage from the city. M'lissa already waited for us there and eagerly informed us:

"Looks like some Thalmor were already here and forced their way into the Warrens recently. Delvin, Brynjolf, Vex, and Sapphire will stay here and make sure that they don't get out alive, and we will go down now."

I nodded, and we quietly opened the door to the Ratway Tunnels. Rather than quickly proceeding onward, though, I sent Bran and Pammy ahead, and they soon flashed out a lone Thalmor soldier, who was probably left here to stand guard. The Altmer hissed some insults, but was quickly subdued and killed. Pammy was, after all, more than capable to handle a lone enemy on her own., Thalmor or no Thalmor.

Carefully we sneaked down the winding corridors. Foul smell was everywhere; we found a few corpses and dead skeevers, and I joked: "M'lissa, tell us, when was the last cleaning done down here?"

Curiously, no further Thalmor showed up, and we found the entry to the lowest level. Searching around for some time M'lissa finally identified a sturdy looking door; we got close to it and I knocked.

"Go away!" A voice shouted from inside.

"Esbern? Open the door. We are friends." I shouted back.

"What?! No, that's not me. I'm not Esbern. I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's okay. Delphine sent us."

"Delphine? How do you... so you've finally found her, and she led you to me. And here I am, caught like a rat in a trap."

"The Thalmor have found you. You need to get out of here."

"Oh, how reassuring! Most likely you're with the Thalmor and this is just a trick to get me to open the door!"

"No, Delphine needs your help to stop the dragons. Delphine said to 'remember the 30th of Frostfall.'"

"Ah. Indeed, indeed. I do remember. Delphine really is alive, then? You'd better come in then and tell me how you found me and what you want."

We heard some noise from inside; obviously Esbern had barred the door heavily and needed some time to get it open; we could hear him saying:

"This'll just take a moment… This one always sticks... there we go. Come in, come in! Make yourselves at home."

The three of us entered his room, and he locked the door behind us right away. Esbern looked at us and commented:

"Two female Khajiit and a male Nord – interesting combination."

T'mara hissed: "I hope that this is not meant an an insult!"

"No, no, not at all, I am just surprised!" he was quick to reply, and continued:

"So Delphine keeps up the fight, after all these years. I thought she'd have realized it's hopeless by now. I tried to tell her, years ago..."

I was not sure if it was wise to discuss details here and thus intervened: "The Thalmor have found you. We have to get out of here!"

"Yes, yes, so you said. But so what? The end is upon us. I may as well die here as anywhere else. I'm tired of running."

"What do you mean, 'the end is upon us'?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet? What more needs to happen before you all wake up and see what's going on? Alduin has returned, just like the prophecy said! The Dragon from the dawn of time, who devours the souls of the dead! No one can escape his hunger, here or in the afterlife! Alduin will devour all things and the world will end. Nothing can stop him, only a Dragonborn. But no Dragonborn has been known for centuries. It seems the gods have grown tired of us. They've left us to our fate, as the plaything of Alduin the World-Eater."

T'mara now jumped in: "It's not hopeless, Esbern. I'm Dragonborn."

"What? You're... can it really be true? Dragonborn? Then... then there is hope! The gods have not abandoned us! We must... we must... We must go, quickly now. Take me to Delphine. We have much to discuss."

Finally we were all on the same page. Esbern hastened to pack what he wanted to take with him, and he was done within a few minutes. However, just a couple of minutes after we had left Esbern's hideout, we were challenged by a group of Thalmor who had somehow managed to stay hidden before. Fortunately they gave us time to prepare for fighting as they decided to hurl some insults in our direction prior to attacking. As they were standing very close together, T'mara shouted a 'YOL' at them right before they could cast spells, and this hurt them enough to enable us to get close and hit them. Esbern actually turned out to be a very capable fighter, to my surprise, but with him being a former Blade, I should have rather expected that. Between the four of us, aided by Bran and Pammy, we managed to defeat the Thalmor quickly and without major injuries.

After leaving the Ratway area, we took our leave from M'lissa, thanked her for her assistance, and started our trip to Riverwood. Except for a dragon encounter, which enabled Esbern to see that my wife was indeed the Dragonborn, we got there a couple of days later and went to see Delphine right away, and she lead us into the basement. Once we were all there and she closed the door, Delphine first welcomed Esbern:

"Esbern, it is so good to see that you actually survived! I thought that I am the last Blade, but you might give us a chance to plan further ahead."

Esbern replied: "It is also good to see you, Delphine. I had given up hope when I heard about Alduin's return, but encountering the Dragonborn has revived me. There might be a few other options, but I believe that we should try to locate Alduin's Wall – this might provide some hints on how to defeat the World-Eater."

T'mara looked at him: "What is Alduin's Wall? I have never heard about that."

Esbern responded: "Alduin's Wall was created by the ancient Akaviri Dragonguard, the forerunners of the Blades. It is one of the lost secrets of the Blades, where they recorded all they knew of Alduin and his return. Part of it is history, another part is prophecy. Its location was lost for centuries, but I know where it is: Sky Haven Temple, an ancient Blades sanctuary, hidden within the crags of the Reach."

I cut in: "And where exactly would that Sky Haven Temple be?"

Delphine answered this one: "I know the area of the Reach that Esbern's talking about. Near what's nowadays known as Karthspire, in the Karth River canyon. We can meet you there, or all travel together – your call."

I looked at T'mara, and she replied: "Well, we are all together here, and we do not have any other urgent appointments at this time, so why don't we travel there together, and we can talk a little more. What's the best way to get there?"

"From here?" Delphine replied. "The road south through Falkreath is the most direct route. Or you could catch the carriage from Whiterun to Markarth and then approach from the west. Either way, the Reach is wild country these days. The Forsworn are everywhere. We need to be careful. Are you ready to go?"

We nodded, and I confirmed: "Always. Let's go see if we can find this Sky Haven Temple."

We all voted for walking rather than taking the carriage, and Delphine helped us to restock our supplies. Rather than actually passing the city of Falkreath, though, we opted to follow the scenic road along Lake Ilinalta. Esbern had been holed up underground for a long time, and he enjoyed to be strolling along in the open again, especially in pleasant Skyrim summer. We were lucky and got a sunny day to start, and as soon as we had descended to the lake, Esbern slowed down and took his time to look around. Delphine was sometimes trying to rush us:

"Esbern, come on, we don't have time to lose!"

However, both T'mara and I took Esbern's side and insisted that there was no reason to hurry. Colorful water lilies and other flowers decorated the lake's shore, dragonflies and butterflies swirled around them, and the occasional rabbit and fox ran away from us through the dense grass. The clear lake water seemed to beckon us to relax and maybe go swimming even.

T'mara could not avoid sighing:

"Skyrim is so beautiful, at least in this time of the year. Can we not forget about the dragons for some time and just relax and enjoy and maybe go for a swim?"

Delphine immediately objected dryly: "Alduin is not going to wait – no time to dawdle!"

However, I took my wife's side: "Come on Delphine, we are all human – well, or Khajiit, of course – and we can't focus on work all of the time. Actually, right now, I am also thinking about something else which is even prettier than all of the flowers around here!"

I pulled T'mara into my arms and gave her a tight hug and a hot long kiss, and I felt her melting into my arms.

Delphine shook her head: "I can't believe it. Alduin is around, the world is threatened by annihilation, and while we are hurrying to find vital information, and the two of you have nothing better to do than making out."

Esbern just smiled and said: "Get a room, you two!"

I replied with a smirk: "You can be sure that we will do that in the next inn. By the way, if I had a choice, I would follow the motto 'Make love, not war'!"

"Yeah, as if Alduin would be willing to adopt that..." Delphine mumbled.

Despite the friendly bantering, we walked more quickly now, and as the daylight period started early and ended quite late in summer, we expected to make it to 'Old Hroldan Inn' today. As a matter of fact, we took our lunch break just a little bit after noontime close to the town 'Granite Hill', enjoying the view across the Whiterun Plains to the northeast. T'mara and I had been here once or twice and chatted for a few minutes with the locals, before Delphine urged us to get on the road again.

"Remind me to not travel with this slave driver of a Nord next time", T'mara whispered in my direction when Delphine was way ahead of us. Esbern was happy to take it easy, and we used the time to tell him about how we had met and about some adventures we had experienced so far. We also told him about the twin cousins we had found in Riften – or rather who had found us there – and who claimed that they were not from Nirn, and he mumbled something like:

"Yes, yes, I have heard or read somewhere that Akatosh sometimes gets people to travel between different universes or so, quite interesting, need to learn more about it."

A group of bandits had taken the area where the road to Old Hroldan branched off the main road as waypoint for robbing travelers, and although we had Bran and Pammy scouting ahead, Delphine encountered them first as she was way ahead of us. Rather than retreating and waiting for us, the brave woman charged, totally surprising the bandits – they could not understand why a single traveler would dare to actually attack them, a group of six or seven. Delphine was a fierce warrior, but the bandits had a few additional archers hidden in the bushes, and soon the Breton was in trouble. Fortunately, both Bran and Pammy as well as Edric came down on the bandits now; Esbern and T'mara also raced forward, whereas I used my crossbow from a larger distance, out of the bandits' bow range. This turned the tide, and the outlaws suddenly found themselves defending rather than attacking; Delphine used their confusion to kill a few more of them, and Esbern and T'mara took care of the last ones. Delphine uttered:

"Bandits against Blades – who do they think they are?"

I decided to not point out the fact that she would have been in trouble without our support; tehre was no reason to antagonize the fierce Breton woman. We healed the few minor injuries mostly on Delphine's body, collected the best loot and finally made our way to the inn. The two Blades decided to share a room, as they wanted to talk about 'internal business', and T'mara and I got the room we had had the last time - 'Tiber Septims's room'. While we had dinner in the taproom, T'mara and I told the story about the ghost we had encountered here in the inn some time ago.

Later, when we were alone in our room, T'mara whispered seductively:

"There is something else I recall related to this inn here."

I raised my brows and pretended to think about that: "Hm, the soft bed? Great Breakfast? Nice view outside?"

T'mara playfully kicked my ribs, and I admitted: "Oh yes, we had quite a busy night, at least until we were interrupted by that ghost."

"Yes, we had, my dear" my wife purred, "and as a highlight you got quite a large hickey on your neck!"

I shuddered: "I recall that you left the room when you noticed that in the morning!"

"Yes, I did," she continued, "but looking back and thinking about it again, I like the idea and wold like to repeat the procedure – what do you think?"

I pretended to hesitate: "Can we maybe just do the lovemaking without the hickey?"

"No, no way," T'mara vehemently denied my request, "either you take both or none – chose wisely!"

Rather than answering I started to remove her armor and sighed: "Well, if you put it like that...".

_[Authors' Notes: The slogan 'Make love, not war' stems back to the late 1960s, I believe, and was either invented or at least made well known by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The motto kind of fits my hero who would rather live in peace with everybody, but does not get the chance.]_


	45. Chapter 45 - Discovering Skyhaven Temple

**Chapter 45: Discovering Skyhaven Temple**

_[12__th__ – __13__th__of Midyear 4E 202]_

During breakfast we looked at the map, and Delphine pointed out the general area where Sky Haven Temple should be located, at least according to her knowledge.

"This is Forsworn territory!" she warned us. "We need to be careful and prepared to fight."

"Maybe so," I replied, "but it does not help to seek a fight just because we see a Forsworn. We should try to reason with them first if we can, I believe."

Seeing that Delphine doubted that, T'mara jumped in to make the point: "Just imagine that there is a Forsworn camp close to the temple. Once you have settled down in the temple, would you want to have enemies around all of the time or rather allies or at least people you have a truce with?"

Delphine pondered that and finally admitted reluctantly: "You may have a point here, although I am not fully convinced yet. All right, let's be careful and see if we can talk to them first."

Our problem was that we did not know exactly where the entrance to our goal was located. The most likely target area was close to a Forsworn camp known as 'Karthspire', according to Delphine, and we cautiously walked in this direction after we had crossed the two old stone bridges leading there, branching off from the main road towards Markarth. From a distance and while being under cover we could see the camp, and it reached from this side of the river across various stone bridges and platforms to the other side, reaching up to a higher platform and various huts and tables. Contrary to other and smaller Forsworn camps, there were lots of people, even including children, which we had rarely seen before in those places. While we were still viewing the camp area and discussing the best approach, a loud dragon roar suddenly filled the valley, and a big blue dragon swooped down towards the camp. The Forsworn hesitated to flee, as that would leave their children unprotected, and I realized that this could be a good opportunity for us. I quickly shouted to my wife: "Lure the dragon over to us, now!"

Fortunately she got my point and shouted a quick 'FUS' in the beast's direction. If anything, dragons were proud and rarely ignored a challenge if they saw one; same here, and the beast immediately turned away from the camp and towards us, blowing frost spikes our way. I already had my crossbow ready and quickly loaded bolts of exploding fire, and within seconds I blasted away in the dragon's direction. T'mara supported me with fireblast spells, but Delphine and Esbern were not big fans of long distance weapons and rather relied on their blades - 'nomen est omen', I guessed. Esbern could cast spells, though, and he assisted in attacking the dragon while it was in the air. It took us some time to whittle the beast down, but with another strong 'YOL' from my wife it was finally dropping into the river, and now Esbern and Delphine hacked away, supporting our fireblasts and bolts. The beast succumbed to our joined efforts and expired, and we could see the usual swirl as the dragon soul was absorbed by T'mara.

Just as I had hoped, the Forsworn had noticed that my wife was Dragonborn, and they had also noticed that we had deliberately lured the dragon away from their camp. A hagraven seemed to be in charge of the camp, and she cautiously approached us. When she was barely within talking distance, she shouted over to us:

"You helped us – why?"

"You have children in your camp, and we did not want to see the children killed by the dragon."

"It is rare to see some of your kind to care about Forsworn and their children."

"Maybe so, but we do not believe in senseless killing. Rather, we would prefer to be in peace with everybody."

"We would as well, but most men and mer attack us on sight. Nevertheless, you have helped us; this counts for something. Will you allow me to come closer so that we can talk more easily?"

Once we had give permission and talked some more, the hagraven offered:

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Yes, there is, indeed; we are looking for the entrance to a place called 'Sky Haven Temple'; it is supposed to be somewhere around here."

"It is, indeed, right in the 'Karthspire cavern'. Access is blocked, though, and you won't get in anyway. Normally we do not allow strangers in our camp and cavern, but we will allow it for you, as you are with the Dragonborn. My name is Uela, and I will now escort you to the entrance."

With those words she turned around and waved for us to follow. Delphine hissed:

"I am not sure if we can trust her!"

I replied:

"I am not fully sure either, but let's try to do this without a fight if we can."

Uela led us into the Karthspire cavern, where we found a significant number of Forsworn and a Briarheart. It would have been difficult at least to fight our way through here, as they had the advantage of knowing the place and probably had some ambush places and traps prepared for potential intruders. At the end of the cavern, the path was blocked by a chasm and a dropbridge, which was pulled up on the other side. A puzzle lock seemed to control the release mechanism; although we searched the area for some time, no hint related to the solution was visible. Esbern was apparently fascinated:

"Hm, two dragon heads facing each other – this looks like ancient Akaviri design – intriguing!"

Delphine was not showing a lot of patience:

"Esbern, this is not a time for historical research; how do we get across?"

After a few minutes of thinking I suggested:

"Well, lacking other ideas, this might be a place only accessible to the Dragonborn, so let's try to set all three symbols to the side with the dragons."

We did that, and to our surprise this actually worked; the wooden drawbridge started to give some groaning noise and lowered itself. Uela was both surprised and delighted to see that, and she told us:

"Well, well, you seem to make some progress. All right, we will leave you here to proceed, and when you come back, you will have free passage outside. Good luck, Dragonborn and party!"

"Thank you, Uela, for your kindness, and all the best for your tribe!" I replied politely.

When Uela was gone, T'mara turned to me and commented:

"You know, if somebody really wanted to get ahead, it would not take that long to try all potential combinations of the puzzle, as there are only three stones with three options each. Why has nobody done that?"

"I do not know" I had to admit. "Maybe some tried, but got stopped later on, and the drawbridge raised itself up again after some time?"

Moving ahead and passing the bridge, we were soon stopped again by a large array of pressure plates on the ground. The plates had different symbols on them, including those we had seen before on the puzzle pillars. Esbern was clearly fascinated again and was thinking, but I decided to be more direct. I picked up a few large stones and threw them on some plates, triggering the expected fire blast trap. I told Esbern:

"It is quite fascinating to see the ancient traps still working just fine. How did they manage to keep them functional over time?"

Esbern was too much involved in studying the wall designs to pay attention to my question:

"Yes, yes, fascinating indeed. Look at the inscriptions on the walls – this seems to be Akaviri again, I must take some notes."

While Esbern was scribbling something on a small notepad, Delphine was getting impatient again:

"Esbern, this is not the time for historical studies. Let's find out how we can move on!"

"Yes, well, there is the Dragonborn symbols again, multiple times. It worked before, so maybe it works again? Maybe stepping on those plates will be safe?"

I did not hesitate, cast my strongest protection spell around me just in case and slowly stepped on the first plate with the Dragonborn symbol on it, and indeed nothing happened. Looking ahead I noticed that the next plates with that symbol indicated some kind of path, and I stepped forward again cautiously. The scheme worked, and after ten minutes of slowly stepping and looking, I managed to arrive on the other side of the plate field, unharmed. My companions followed doing the same, and we could proceed. We entered a narrow tunnel, and after a few turns the passage ended up in larger hall again. The opposite wall showed a large stone face, and there was a circular kind of platform the ground.

Esbern studied that for a while and commented:

"Wonderful! Remarkably well preserved, too. Ah... here's the 'blood seal'. Another of the lost Akaviri arts. No doubt triggered by... well, blood. Dragonborn blood, it would seem. Look here! You see how the ancient Blades revered Reman Cyrodiil. This whole place appears to be a shrine to Reman. He ended the Akaviri invasion under mysterious circumstances, you recall. After the so-called 'Battle of Pale Pass', the Akaviri went into his service. This was the foundation stone of the Second Empire."

"So, what do we have to do?" I asked.

"Esbern's probably right." Delphine explained and turned towards my wife. "Try using your blood on the carved seal on the floor."

T'mara was not so happy about that idea. I noticed her hesitation, stepped over to her, grabbed her left arm and bit her boldly, so that a few drops of her blood dropped down on the seal.

"Ouch!" she yelped, glaring at me.

"Come on, that was just a tiny little love bite" I teased her with a smirk.

Before we got a chance to continue that line of thought, a loud rumbling noise started and the big face on the wall slid upwards to reveal a doorway.

Delphine shouted:

"That's done it! Look, it's coming to life! You did it. There's what must be the entrance. After you, Dragonborn. You should have the honor of being the first to set foot in Sky Haven Temple."

I took T'mara's hand, and we slowly walked forward side by side, followed by Delphine and Esbern at some distance. After stepping through the doorway, we soon encountered skillfully crafted walls with reliefs left and right. Stone steps led upward to open up into a large hall, and a huge relief dominated one of the walls there. Behind us I could hear Esbern mumbling:

"Isn't it amazing? Original Akaviri bas reliefs... almost entirely intact! Fascinating... you can see how the Akaviri craftsmen were beginning to embrace the more flowing Nordic style..."

Delphine was obviously not so happy with Esbern taking his time and scribbling notes again, and she promptly reminded him: "We're here for Alduin's Wall, right, Esbern?"

"Yes, of course." Esbern admitted. "We'll have more time to look around later, I suppose. Let's see what's up ahead."

Both of them followed us up into the hall and Esbern was almost speechless for a few minutes, before he shouted out:

"Shor's bones! Here it is! Alduin's Wall... so well preserved... I've never seen a finer example of early second era Akaviri sculptural relief..."

Delphine was getting impatient again:

"Esbern! We need information, not a lecture on art history."

Esbern reluctantly conceded:

"Yes, yes. Let's see what we have... Look, here is Alduin! This panel goes back to the beginning of time, when Alduin and the Dragon Cult ruled over Skyrim. Here the humans rebel against their dragon overlords – the legendary Dragon War. Alduin's defeat is the centerpiece of the Wall. You see, here he is falling from the Sky. The Nord Tongues – masters of the Voice – are arrayed against him."

T'mara was now also getting curious and asked:

"Does this provide any information on how to defeat him?"

Esbern replied:

"Patience, my dear. The Akaviri were not a straightforward people. Everything is couched in allegory and mythic symbolism. Yes, yes. This here, coming from the mouths of the Nord heroes – this is the Akaviri symbol for 'Shout'. But... there's no way to know what Shout is meant, at least according to what I've seen and identified so far."

Delphine was curious about that one:

"You mean they used a Shout to defeat Alduin? You're sure?"

Esbern happily elaborated on that statement:

"Hm? Oh, yes. Presumably something rather specific to dragons, or even Alduin himself. Remember, this is where they recorded all they knew of Alduin and his return. Look, here. In the third panel. The prophecy which brought the Akaviri to Tamriel in the first place, in search of the Dragonborn. Here are the Akaviri – the Blades – you see their distinctive longswords. Now they kneel, their ancient mission fulfilled, as the Last Dragonborn contends with Alduin at the end of time. Are you paying attention, Delphine? You might learn something of our own history. I know the prophecy by heart. Once all Blades knew it, and it reads:  
'When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world'  
'When the Brass Tower walks and Time is reshaped'  
'When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles'  
'When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls'  
'When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding'  
'The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn.' "

Delphine was apparently feeling a little bit overwhelmed with all of those details; she finally seemed to realize that Esbern would require some time for further analysis and decided:

"Well, I'm going to look around some more. See what the Blades left for us."

Esbern nodded:

"Yes... yes, that's an excellent idea. Who knows what lost treasures we might discover?"

Later on, when Delphine had searched the place for some time and Esbern had spent more time examining the walls and other reliefs, both Blades reluctantly admitted that they'd require much more time getting acquainted with the place and studying the walls and reliefs further, before we could decide on how to proceed. After we all had spent a night here, T'mara suggested:

"Look, why don't Tim and I get back to you in a week or two; until then you might have a better idea on how to proceed and we can discuss our plans further."

They agreed, and Delphine added:

"Right now it is until Esbern and me here, and we could use some help. The Thalmor hunted us down, and we lost many valuable Blades. But we have a headquarters of a sort now. We'll rebuild the Blades. If you find anyone you think would make a good recruit, I will certainly take a look at them. Remember, though, being a Blade is a lifelong commitment. Their loyalty has to be with us once they're in."

-

After breakfast on the next day, T'mara and I took our leave from the two Blades and promised to keep our eyes open for potential Blade recruits. Once we were outside, we discussed what to do next; after bringing up various ideas, my wife finally decided:

"Look, the Greybeards know most about Shouts. Let's go up to High Hrothgar and ask them if they know anything about that particular Shout."

"You may be right," I admitted, "let's do this. We have never had a chance to talk to the fifth Greybeard they had vaguely mentioned before, so maybe we should ask to get introduced to him. About traveling, which destination would you like to reach today?"

"You know," T'mara pondered while smiling, "its summer right now. Even in Skyrim, this means something, and I enjoy this time of the year. I would prefer to take my time and not rush everywhere, so let's just walk to Old Hroldan Inn today – okay for you?"

"Of course that's all right for me – off we go!"

While we took our time to cross the bridges leading to the main road from Markarth, T'mara asked:

"Have you thought about potential candidates for being a Blade?"

"Well, a little bit." I responded. "One or two of our housecarls might be suitable. For instance, I could ask Argis if he'd prefer to become a Blade rather than doing kind of mercenary work around Markarth, for instance. Sky Haven Temple is in 'The Reach' anyway."

T'mara said: "Yes, he might a good candidate. I also wonder if we should ask Jenassa in Whiterun. She seems to be an excellent fighter, but due to her rude behavior she is rarely hired. Delphine should be able to cope with her, don't you think so?"

"Yes, indeed," I laughed, "if not Delphine, nobody will. Hey, as we are probably going to pass Whiterun, we could ask her. She can think about it for a few days, and when we're back from High Hrothgar, we can take her with us on our return trip."

T'mara smiled at me: "Great – let's do it!"

By now we were slowly walking uphill along the river, passing the whitewater and waterfall section. Bran and Pammy were running ahead, and they suddenly stopped at a large bush, sniffing the air there. Before we could find out what the reason might be, a person ran out, passed our two guards, and started to throw knifes in T'mara's direction. She was startled for a moment, and the first knife actually pierced her skin close to the shoulder. My Khajiit wife yelped, hurt as she was now, finally paid attention and avoided the second thrown knife; the assassin did not get the time to throw a third one, though, as Bran and Pammy were now upon him, and he had to fight for his dear life. I ran over and ran my greatsword through his body quickly, not risking any further injury to any of us. After healing my wife and holding her for a few minutes for comfort, we searched the assassin and found a note confirming that he was sent by the 'Dark Brotherhood' again.

"It looks like they are not going to give up easily" T'mara sighed.

"No," I confirmed, "they don't. Maybe we should check with that commander, I think Maro is his name, in Dragon Bridge, and ask if he's got any further news regarding their organization."

"Yes, maybe we should," my wife confirmed, "but for now we are going to High Hrothgar first. After all, fortunately we have some capable bodyguards with us."

Bran and Pammy got patted by both of us, and an hour later we arrived at Old Hroldan Inn again, and Eydis, the owner, was quite happy to see us again so soon. The inn was located off the road at some distance, and not may travelers stopped by. We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with her, and we got our usual room for the night.

"What's our target for today going to be?" T'mara asked during breakfast on the next day.

"Hm, if we walk quickly, we should be able to get to Whiterun, my love" I told her. "We could also take it slow and detour north to Rorikstead, making Whiterun tomorrow, if you want."

"Oh yes, please, let's do that!" my wife said excitedly. "West of Rorikstead, on the plains there, I have seen a herd of wild horses a few times, and they're so beautiful to look at!"

"Well, then this is settled, I guess."

We took our leave from the innkeeper and merrily started our walk again, taking the road north, paying our respects to the close-by Shrine of Mara, and further in the direction of 'Soljund's Sinkhole'. After a quick chat with the miners here we turned east and soon left the hills, entering the plains west of Rorikstead. About an hour later we saw the first wild horses; T'mara stopped me, and we just admired them for some time. My wife was musing:

"Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't get horses for ourselves. Don't you think that this would be a nice way of traveling?"

"It might," I replied, "but also somewhat inconvenient. Look, we frequently stop to pick up flowers and other ingredients, we talk to people and all that. Above and beyond that, when we go into a cave or mine or ruin, we could not take horses with us. Would you want them to stay outside for days and be potential prey to bears, trolls, or dragons?"

"No, certainly not, I would hate to do this." T'mara conceded. "I guess we'd need to have magical horses we could teleport home to the stables when we don't need them."

"Yes," I laughed, "that might work."

We found a nice spot on a rock, reasonably close to the wild horses, but far enough to not scare them off, and had our lunch there as kind of a picnic, taking advantage of the nice and warm weather. We took our time to rest and enjoy and eventually got on our feet again, not directly heading towards the town of Rorikstead, but turning more northeast instead. We passed a couple of iron ore patches and suddenly found ourselves on a ledge looking down to a small hut. Nobody was visible down there; we got curious and climbed down. T'mara politely knocked a few times, but there was no response at all.

"Hm," I said, "either not inhabited or nobody at home right now, I'd guess. Is the door locked?"

T'mara found the door unlocked and we carefully entered the hut. Inside was a real mess. Several pieces of furniture were down or skewed, clothes and food was spread all over the place, and a few skeevers had made themselves at home; they were quickly dispatched by us. On the lone bed we found a corpse, and he could not have been dead for very long, as the fireplace was still lit. Next to the corpse there was a short written note, saying:

"_I should not have ventured beyond the secret door in my basement. The monster hurt me badly, and I barely managed to made it back here after closing the door. I am lying down to die now. Whoever may find my body, do not go down there! Lund."_

Naturally, reading a statement and warning like this got us curious. T'mara slowly turned around, looked at me and asked with a smirk:

"Timotheus, tell, do we usually heed warnings like this one?"

"No, I don't think so." I replied while smirking back at my wife. "However, we should be cautious."

"Of course," my wife chuckled, "aren't we always?"

We were not tired yet and decided to have a look right away. Bran was left behind to guard our back, and I conjured Pammy to scout ahead. First order of business was to find the way down, but Pammy lead us into the right direction and we soon found a hidden trapdoor in a corner of the hut. A small ladder lead us down into a hallway, and Pammy simply jumped down. She had grown somewhat since I had first been able to conjure her, and her size was easily that of a fully grown Pahmer, with her shoulder height being more than one meter.

In the basement, we searched around between barrels and shelves, and eventually we located what looked like a rock blocking an exit. A lever in an empty barrel opened it, and we moved on. The hallway sloped downwards with a number of turns, through what looked like normal rock. A few mushroom spots were along the way, including a few glowing ones on the walls. So far, there was no sign of danger, and Pammy did not show any sign of concern either. About ten minutes later, the passage opened up into some kind of hall, with some rectangular area in the center. No human being was in sight, and no animal was found, the whole place looked totally deserted. Pammy walked around the room carefully, while T'mara and I slowly proceeded towards the center. We were curious to find out if that rectangular area in the center had any special meaning, but we could not find out. When we had reached the center, the floor suddenly gave way under us and dropped us down a few meters. Fortunately we were not really hurt, but now we heard a distant and menacing growling, like from a large predator.

_[Author's Notes: I have not actually tried to do this, but I do not believe that one can reason with the Forsworn rather than fighting them in the game itself. The quote 'nomen est omen' is Latin and means something like 'the name is an indication' - I actually learned Latin at school.]_


	46. Chapter 46 - The Bow of the Jedi

**Chapter 46: The Bow of the Jedi**

_[13__th__ – __15__th__of Midyear 4E 202]_

T'mara and I had started to investigate the underground area beneath Lund's hut and fell through a large trap door, hearing a distant and menacing growling. Well, maybe we should have been smarter than to activate a trap, but we just had not seen it. Anyway, we were strong and brave warriors, and we should be able to handle a beast or two, right?

Pammy also jumped down to us now and tried to find out where the growling had come from. There were a few large passages leading away, but of course we had no clue where they'd lead to. Pammy seemed to know better and vanished into the largest passageway, but T'mara and I decided to wait, while double checking our supplies and potions. About five minutes later Pammy came back, and she looked kind of scared; I had rarely seen her like this, and I wondered what might have happened.

We did not have to wait long to find out, before we heard very loud footsteps coming closer, sounding more like stomping than stepping. The passage we looked at was easily fiver meters high, but the monster slowly approaching from the other end still had to crouch. It was bipedal, had two long arms with vicious looking claws, and huge teeth sticking out around its muzzle. Both my wife and I realized that the beast clearly had no intention to start a conversation, and we blasted fireballs at it. However, they did not seem to impact the monster at all. We tried frost spikes next, and the beast shook its head a couple of times, but still came closer. T'mara now used shock spells, which seemed to work better, and I quickly loaded my crossbow with shock bolts. Nevertheless, even all of that failed to stop the beast entirely, and soon we had to retreat backwards towards the other side of the hall. When it was getting real close, T'mara shouted 'FUS RO DAH', and this drove it back to the other wall at least. Now I loaded a bolt poisoned with stamina and health damage and released it, which slowed down the monster a little more, and I repeated the process a few times. This bought us time to evade the claws and teeth, at the very least. I jumped to one side, got my greatsword out, and when T'mara blasted another shockwave into the beast's front side, I managed to cut off the lower part of one arm, while retreating immediately. A load roar filled the cave, the monster spun around a few times, and we continued to cast shock, renewing our magicka with potions. The monster was now severely impacted and just stumbled around, which gave us more options, and I landed a few more hits. T'mara recalled a shout she had rarely used yet and shouted 'KRII', which made our hits cause more damage. Even with only one arm, though, the beast was very dangerous; once I got hit by the claws, and even my armor could not full prevent damage to my arm. Eventually, though, we got it down and managed to kill it off.

T'mara took care of my wounded arm, and we sat down for a few minutes to rest. My wife commented:

"Wow, that was really a tough one. I have never seen anything like that before – this beast was even larger than a mammoth! Where, by the Nine, did it come from, and how did it get down here?"

I was too exhausted for a good answer: "Honey, I do not know, I do not need to know, and I do not even want to know."

An hour or so later, when we had properly rested and eaten something, we carefully followed the passage the monster had come from, hoping that there wasn't another one of the same kind around. Eventually we found what must have been its lair, and T'mara was getting excited:

"Look, over there, there seem to be some steps leading up to a small ledge, and I think that a small tunnel starts up there!"

Indeed we found a few steps, quite small, but usable, for us at least. A few meters higher a small passageway started, way too small for the beast, so that it could not have used it – even I had to crouch in some parts to avoid hitting my head on the ceiling. After a few turns the tunnel extended to a small chamber with a few beds, drawers, shelves, and chests. On one of the drawers next to a bed there was a book which looked like a diary. I picked it up and read the last few entries, as much as the writing was still readable:

"… _succeeded in observing the Rancor. There should be a way ... breed even larger ones and use them as weapons … need to get more specimen from Dathomir or other planets … customers are going to pay a lot of money, like Jabba the Hutt did … tomorrow I will get closer and try to train it … need to be careful..."_

We assumed that the attempt to train the beast might have resulted in the writer's death. Did somebody really try to train those beasts, and was there more than one? What or where was 'Dathomir', and who or what was a 'Hutt'?

Looking around, we found some loot, and the chest had a very special looking bow in it. There was even a tag attached to it calling it the 'Bow of the Jedi', stating that it had an enchantment of both 'damage health' and 'damage magicka'. Base damage and overall damage were significantly higher compared to the glass bow T'mara had used until now, and she proudly claimed the new bow for herself.

While T'mara still admired her new bow, Pammy sniffed in one corner and looked at me, and when I looked closer, I noticed a few very narrow gaps in the wall, indicating that there might be some kind of hidden door. No mechanism to open it was close by; I alerted my wife to what I had found, and she thought loud:

"Hm, a hidden door, as it looks like. What kind of triggers have we seen so far for hidden doors? There could be a lever or switch in a cupboard or a shelf, something might be hidden in a dark corner or behind a barrel or even in a barrel, or maybe one of the torch holders could be tilted – what do you think?"

"Good thinking, my dear. Let's try the torch holders first, they are easy to locate at least."

And indeed, the torch holder next to a bed could be tilted with little effort, and soon a deep rumbling was heard – the hidden door moved, and a large part of rock moved aside, revealing a narrow passage behind. We looked around to make sure we had not missed anything important and then moved on, entering the opening. After about ten minutes of following the narrow passageway up and down and left and right, we found another closed rock door, but with the opening handle right next to it. When we opened it, we found ourselves on a ledge close to the ladder we had used to get down from Lund's hut, and climbed up again. Pammy, of course, could not so easily climb up, but her time was almost up anyway, and I just patted her head and promised to conjure her again soon.

Bran was happily jumping around T'mara and licked her hands when we got back from the basement, and we found some meat in a cupboard which was still edible for him. Through a window we could see the moon shining from a cloudless sky, and we suddenly noticed that we were quite exhausted and tired. I asked my wife:

"Shall we make our way to Rorikstead for a bed in the inn there or just camp right here? I would not want to sleep in the bed next to the corpse, of course, but temperatures are mild this time of the year, and we could use our bedroll outside on the porch. Bran will warn us for sure if there is danger coming. What do you think?"

"Yes, please," she replied, "I am about done and don't want to walk any further. Let's bunk down on the porch."

I spread our bedroll outside, and soon we both fell asleep in each other's arms, feeling safe with a happy and alert Bran standing guard.

A lone sun ray woke me up next morning, and I felt rested again. T'mara was still snoring a little, and after I had watched her sleeping for a few minutes, I woke her up with a tender kiss. I had planned to get up after the kiss and prepare some breakfast, but my wife, while still being half asleep, had both of her arms around me and refused to let me go. As we had slept without clothes, like we usually did when we were together, it was not really difficult for her to make me decide that breakfast could wait. Eventually, once we had done our morning cuddling and lovemaking, Bran was getting closer and whined – obviously he felt neglected. We opened our bedroll partially and both cuddled with him, too, until T'mara's stomach signaled that breakfast should not wait too much longer.

We were not sure about the quality of the remaining food in the hut; after all, there had been skeevers around. However, we had our own food supplies in our backpacks and thus could indulge properly. After breakfast, we found our way down to the main road by simply following the small path down, and soon we entered the town of Rorikstead. There was only a small general purpose store in the town, but we managed to sell part of the loot we had acquired on the day before. After chatting with the farmers for a few minutes, we merrily walked on, following the wide main road towards Whiterun. The sun was hot on our shoulders this nice summer day, and T'mara sighed a few times, complaining like:

"You know, in Skyrim I am usually quite happy to have a warm fur on my body. On days like this one, though, I sometimes wish I could removed it like a coat."

"Well, I guess that I could help you out with a dagger and shave you, if this is what you want!" I teased her.

My wife looked at me and replied: "Don't you dare to try that!"

"Okay," I smirked, "but I have got another idea."

T'mara looked at me, getting curious, and I slowly opened my hand, selected the weakest frost spell I knew and cast it in her direction. At first she was confused about seeing me 'attacking' her, but when she noticed the cool effect the spell had, she reveled in it and told me:

"That is a great idea! Thank you!"

Bran was apparently also sweating, and his tongue lolled out of his snout almost constantly. After all, he was a big tough husky and more used to snow and ice than to summer temperatures like we currently experienced. I blasted another frost cloud in his direction, and this made him happy. I varied this and cast frost clouds in different directions around us, and he had quite some fun trying to catch up with them, jumping around almost like a puppy. One of those frost clouds went into and through a bush at the side of the road, and suddenly we heard a yelp. A male Khajiit came out, rubbing his torso, and we recognized M'aiq the Liar. Apparently the wayward frost spell had hit him, and he looked irritated, when he said:

"M'aiq has heard it is dangerous to be your friend."

After a few more glances and stares at us, he was gone again. T'mara and I looked at each other and started laughing, and a few minutes later we resumed our walk, continuing to cool down ourselves when needed. In this fine weather we encountered a number of other travelers, some of them we knew, and some others we did not know. Most of the time we stopped for a few minutes to talk with friendly adventurers, alchemists, and traders, and some of them recognized T'mara as Dragonborn. Close to the crossroads at Granite Hill we were talking to a couple of travelers, a male trader and a female alchemist, both Nords, and both of them had an Amulet of Talos visible on their necks. As we were focused on conversation, we had not noticed a Thalmor patrol coming closer, and suddenly the group leader, a Thalmor Justiciar, shouted out:

"The Dragonborn and two Talos worshippers! You are all under arrest!"

The Thalmor, a group of five, had formed a semi circle around us, with three of them in the center and two at the sides; they had their weapons out and seemed to be ready for a fight. The female Nord we had talked to paled and said:

"Oh no, Talos have mercy on us!"

This was of course just fueling the Thalmor behavior, and three of them came closer, in a tight group. Before they had a chance to realize what might happen T'mara shouted 'YOL', and all three of them were engulfed in flames. With a snip of her hand my wife conjured her griffin familiar, and Pammy and Bran, who had been playing close by, also came running, distracting the other Thalmor. The distance was too close for my crossbow, so that I got the greatsword out and decapitated the closest Thalmor. The Justiciar had stepped back and started to cast spells, which I just managed to stop with a ward. Edric, T'mara's griffin familiar, swooped down and badly injured another soldier, and I was now getting to the Justiciar. We had a quick swordplay, but I took advantage of my size and strength and easily decided that for me. When I turned around, the clash was over and all of the Thalmor were dead. The couple we had been talking to were looking like they had seen a ghost, and the male Nord said:

"That was all our fault. We really should have hidden our amulets!"

"Don't worry about that," I replied, "it is not really your fault; the Thalmor might have found other excuses to bother you. Also, they have a warrant on the Dragonborn, and they would have attacked us anyway, even without you being around. They way they treat Skyrim citizens is totally unacceptable."

We took some of the Thalmor armor and weapons as loot; the high quality Elven and Glass armor they usually wore could be sold for a good price. We donated a few weapons to the couple, and after saying good bye to them, continued on our way. Noon was already past us, and we found a nice rock with a mossy surface to sit down and eat, while Bran and Pammy jumped around and tried to find some rabbit or fox to hunt. Once done with eating, we tried to play a few rounds of 'hide and seek' with our two 'pets', but their sense of smell was too good for that, and they always found us quite quickly. In quite a merry mood we moved on, and a couple of hours later we reached the Western Watchtower. The Whiterun guards stationed there waved to us, and we walked slower now to pick up some flowers and catch a few more butterflies.

Closer to Whiterun we met Carlotta with her daughter Mila. She had closed her market stall early to go for a walk with her daughter on the reasonably safe roads close to the city, and Mila hugged all of us, in particular Bran and Pammy. Since they had met a few times already, Pammy had grown a liking to little Mila, and even without being prompted she knelt down to allow Mila to climb on her back. Mila, of course, did not need a more specific invitation and did that, and soon a happy little Nord girl was seen riding around on a big Pahmer. When he had reached the Whiterun stables, Mila got down again and petted Pammy's fur as reward.

When we wanted to take our leave from Carlotta and Mila, the little girl asked:

"Are you going to stay in Breezehome tonight?"

I looked at my wife, and seeing a small nod, I replied: "Yes, I believe that we will. Why do you ask?"

Mila smiled and looked at us with big eyes: "I have not had a chance yet to spend much time with your husky. I wonder if I can visit you later on and maybe spend the night?"

T'mara smiled back: "Of course you can, if your mother allows. We have a small guest bedroom, and I am sure that Bran would not mind having some company."

I addressed Carlotta and asked:

"So, Carlotta, will you allow that your daughter stay with us for the night?"

"Yes, I will," she responded, "if this isn't too much trouble for you. I mean, your are probably tired from traveling and all..."

T'mara told her: "No, that's all right; our day was fine, and we will enjoy the company. We will bring her to the market area tomorrow morning after breakfast."

We took our leave from Carlotta and asked Mila to come with us when we entered the city. I dismissed Pammy outside, and first we went into Warmaiden's to sell more of our loot. Ulfberth started to greet us with one of his favorites:

"Welcome to Warmaiden's. Now don't let the name worry you – we got plenty of steel for fighting men..."

Noticing that T'mara was coming in behind me, he quickly added with a smile: "… and women, of course!"

T'mara, being a Khajiit, was not offended by being called a 'woman'. Rather, she took that as a sign for being fully accepted into the local community. Whiterun had really changed since only a few years ago, when Khajiit had been forbidden to even enter the city without an escort at least. Ulfberth was quite happy about the supply of Elven and Glass armor and weapons we offered to him, and he gladly paid what we agreed on after some bartering. We further went up to the market and sold most of the potions we had found in Arcadia's cauldron, catching her just before she was about to close. When that was done, we got into Breezehome for the night. I started to prepare dinner, and T'mara made sure that the guestroom was prepared for our guest. Mila started to yawn right after eating, and we showed her upstairs to her room. Bran was quite happy to join her, and later on we found the girl sleeping under the covers, with the husky rolled-up on the covers; Mila's left hand was lightly resting on the dog's back. T'mara and I smiled when we saw that, and when we were sitting down in our living room again, my wife looked at me and said:

"You know, when I see that, I kind of think that it might be nice to eventually have children of our own. This is really something special."

"But only after Alduin has been defeated, right?"

"Of course, dear; anything else would be foolish."

"But, is it actually possible for the two of us to have children together?"

"It should be. In Elsweyr there are quite a number of mixed parents having children, and most of them are really beautiful, at least in my view. Of course, there are always a few people looking down on crossbreeds, but I don't think that the Dragonborn's kids should have such a problem."

When she had explained that, T'mara looked at me and asked: "Of course, I am not sure if you would want to have children not really looking like you. I mean, Khajiit hybrids mostly have tails and pointed ears, just less fur and a smaller snout, but they still look more Khajiit than human. If you wouldn't want that, I'd understand..."

"Are you kidding?" I asked back. "I'd be quite disappointed if our children did not look mostly like Khajiit in general and like you in particular!"

Obviously this was exactly the right answer as T'mara jumped into my lap and kissed me almost senseless.

Mila was well rested on the next day and joined us for breakfast, and she came down smiling, saying that she enjoyed the time here and with Bran so much. I decided here and now that I'd look for a husky puppy next time we were in Fort Dawnguard; maybe they had a few which were not good enough for vampire fights, and this would make an excellent present for Mila's next birthday. After breakfast, we walked Mila over to the market area, where her mother was just opening her stall.

"Thank you a lot for having Mila last night" she told us.

"No problem at all," I replied, "we had a good time with her, and she took good care of our dog."

"Well, maybe the other way round!" Carlotta laughed.

We bought a few supplies from her and marched out of the city, on our way to High Hrothgar to talk to the Greybeards. Of course we would have to spend a night in Ivarstead in between, and we needed to hurry to get there before nightfall.

"Want to take the shorter route today, through Riverwood and Helgen, or the slightly longer one passing Valtheim Towers?"

"Hm", my wife replied, "if you don' mind, let's take the northern route today. All right?"

"Fine with me," I confirmed, "let's get started!"

As we were well rested, we exercised our bodies by walking briskly and ignoring most temptations on the way, like picking flowers, catching butterflies, raiding bandit caves, hunting, or swimming. A few wolves tried to get closer, but we simply ran for some time and discouraged them with a few fire blasts when they got too close. Valtheim Towers came up, and for today we decided to just pass and ignore the bandits. The lone bandit guarding the entrance tried to challenge us, but I called over:

"Sorry, we are in a hurry today – maybe next time!", sent a shock blast for good measure, and we were past the entrance. The archers on the walkway across the river reacted too late, and we were out of range before they had fully engaged.

"This was fun!" T'mara laughed. "Can we do that with dragons, too?"

"Well, you can try to outrun a dragon, by somehow I doubt that this will work. Also, you won't want to miss the dragon soul, right?"

"That goes for both of us, my dear. Remember how you always enjoy my special mood after I got one?"

I quickly wrapped my arms around my wife, gave her a firm kiss and replied: "Yes, dear, you are right, as always!"

We continued running, as it was so easy going downhill, and we reached the small side road going up again, close to Fort Amol, around noon. We walked uphill until we were out of sight from the fort and sat down on a mossy rock to have lunch together. Once we had eaten, T'mara smiled at me and said:

"Wow, that was fun. My body likes running, and I am quite glad that you can actually keep up with me."

"Just keep up?" I asked her. "If I really try, I will leave you behind!"

"This I would like to see! Race you to Ivarstead?"

"All the way there? Really?"

"Of course, or are you trying to chicken out of it now?"

"No, not at all – let's do it. What's the winner's reward going to be?

"Hm," T'mara started thinking, "what about the loser has to do the dish washing?"

"We are going to stay at an inn, my dear."

"Good point. Maybe the loser has to clean all of our armor and clothes tonight?"

"Okay, that will work – off we go!"

Both of us started to run uphill, following the winding path. I knew that even when running it would take us two hours or so to get to Ivarstead, and I tried to not overexert myself. Despite all of my stamina and strength, I honestly expected T'mara to win, but that was all right. We were both almost side to side when we crossed the river about half way up, but from that point on I needed to slow down, and T'mara gained some lead. Her slender and athletic Khajiit body was better trained for such efforts, as I knew quite well, and she also wore Light Dawnguard armor compared to my Heavy one. A few times she looked back and taunted me, but soon she got out of sight and hearing distance. When I finally got close to the town, I saw T'mara quickly jumping around in a clay pitch and then running ahead to the inn. At first I was confused by this, but then I recalled what my penalty was going to be and sighed. At the inn, T'mara waited inside and had a huge grin on her pretty face:

"What took you so long, my dear?"

"Did you actually just get yourself dirty in that clay pit outside?"

"Oh, I must have slipped, I guess."

"Sure."

"I am just getting upstairs to change, so that you can handle my dirty clothes. Dinner is ordered, so please try to get the cleaning done before dinner!"

I sighed again, and soon I got my wife's dirty clothes handed over. To speed up the cleaning, I took all of the clothes and jumped into the river behind the inn. Despite the summer temperatures, the water was still almost icy cold, but I was a Nord after all. After I had washed my wife's clothes, I dipped my head into the water a few times and made sure that my own clothes were also clean. Was there a spell for cleaning clothes? Maybe I should ask Tolfdir when I got a chance. When I finally got out of the water, my clothes and I were reasonably clean; my wife had watched me and just shook her head:

"I will never understand how somebody willingly jumps into that cold water without being forced. But anyway, did you get the job done?"

I handed her clothes over; they were clean, but very cold and wet.

"Hey," T'mara complained, "what about getting them dry again?"

"That was not part of the deal." I smiled.

"What? Are you serious?"

"Okay, let's do that, too."

I found a section of a fence in the inn's backyard to hang the laundry on and applied my lowest level fireblast spell until all of the clothes were mostly dry again, and T'mara was now happy about my work:

"Good boy, you may have earned your dinner now. If your are lucky and continue to do your chores diligently, I may actually keep you around."

Looking at her face I noticed that she was having a hard time not laughing, and I tried to look like I was pouting. That pushed her over the edge, and T'mara burst out laughing; I joined her and was happy that we could have that much fun with each other. Wilhelm looked out of the inn's back window and asked:

"Say, are you two really adults?"

"No," I replied while still laughing, "we only pretend to be all grown up sometimes. In reality we are just two kids with a license to kill dragons."

After getting myself changed, a warm dinner was exactly what I needed, and thanks to Wilhelm I got it, too, as a wonderful venison stew with potatoes and leeks. Later, when we were in our bed, I yawned deliberately, stretched my body, planted my face on the pillow, and told my wife:

"That's it for today; all I need now is sleep; good night, and sleep well!"

Soon I heard some giggling and chuckling, and I felt her soft hands wander over various parts of my body. I tried to ignore her attentions, but she was not that easily discouraged. Eventually I sighed, pretending to be annoyed:

"What part of 'sleep' did you not get?"

"Dear, do you recall what Marine mentioned in Winterhold: There is sleeping and there is sleeping?"

"Oh yes, I do. Okay, I get it. Help yourself!" I yawned again, but obediently turned around so that I was on my back now. Of course no second invitation was required, and, though being quite tired and exhausted, I thoroughly enjoyed my wife's ministrations, specifically as a certain part of my body was not quite as tired as my brain was.

_[Author's Notes: The monster in the cave – Rancor – is a reference to the beast with the same name encountered on Tatooine by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode VI._

_About the Men-Khajiit crossbreeding, I am not sure, but I'd expect children to look like the main protagonist of the mod 'M'rissi's Tails of Troubles', which is IMO quite cute.]_


	47. Chapter 47 - Meeting the fifth Greybeard

**Chapter 47: Meeting the fifth Greybeard**

_[16__th__ – __23__rd__of Midyear 4E 202]_

We were getting up a little later than usual on the next day. While T'mara had easily won our race on the day before, both on the road and in bed, she had also been in need of a restful sleep, but we were not in a hurry after all. After taking our time for a good and filling breakfast, we enjoyed an easy day around town, talking to the farmers and helping them on the fields, checking with Klimmek and getting another load of supplies to carry up for him, exchanging news with Wilhelm, the innkeeper, and just gallivanting around. Later on in the afternoon I went for a swim in the river to stretch my muscles; T'mara reluctantly joined me for a few minutes, but only once I had promised her that I'd help to get her fur dry and warm again afterwards.

After another night with restful sleep we started our trip up to them mountain early at sunrise on the next day, and we found it more bearable in summer than in winter. Not that we'd complain, of course, as we were both well trained and we had our faithful companions with us. Pammy and Bran were running around trying to find wolves and foxes to scare off, while Edric was happy to fly high and scout ahead. We passed the first few inscriptions and met a couple of other travelers; most of them freely admitted that they did not plan to make it to the top, but would be happy to turn around before the area of eternal snow started.

"I have heard rumors about a ferocious frost troll or two after the sixth stone tablet, and I certainly won't go past that one" a lone young Redguard woman told us. "Besides, up there it's way too cold for me, even with furs."

The first day passed without any incident; we used the same spot we had found on our first trip for rigging our tent, and when we went to bed after a quick supper, T'mara started to chuckle when we cuddled in our bedroll.

"What are you thinking about, dear?" I asked.

"I just recalled when we were here for the first time." My wife continued to chuckle. "We had our separate bedrolls, and the night was quite chilly. I turned around while sleeping and got quite close to you, and I was so embarrassed when I woke up and found myself cuddling with you."

"Yes, I recall that night." I responded. "And I also recall that, even before being fully awake, I noticed that I really liked you cuddling with me."

We both smiled at each other, and I continued:

"Was that the time or was it later when I said that cuddling with you was almost as good as cuddling with my teddy bear at home?"

"That was later!" T'mara laughed. "That happened at a time when I could really prove that it was much better rather than almost as good!"

Looking directly in her eyes I asked: "Maybe you could prove that to me again?"

My wife laughed again and replied: "Of course I can – come here, my oversized little Nord husband!"

I started to ponder her response and thought that 'oversized' and 'little' together in one sentence was some kind of oxymoron, but did not get a chance to follow that line of thought any further, as a certain soft and furry Khajiit claimed all of my attention now, which I was all too happy to give.

Temperatures had dropped significantly during the night; a light snowfall had started and a thin layer of fresh snow covered the ground here at this altitude, even now in mid summer. However, we had proper clothes with us and we had our spells available to warm us up if required, so that we merrily walked on after breakfast. Approaching the ledge where he had encountered a frost troll a couple of times before, we slowed down and sent Edric ahead to flush out a potentially hiding beast; today not just one but two frost trolls came out of hiding, but of course they found themselves unable to attack the enemy they saw, as Edric flew around them just outside of their range. I had my crossbow ready and sent bolts of exploding fire their way, T'mara used her new 'Bow of the Jedi', and Pammy raced ahead. Bran stayed with us – frost trolls were a couple of sizes too big for him to attack. One of the beasts succumbed to our bolts and arrows, but the other one noticed where we were and started to move in our direction. T'mara shouted 'YOL' and this one was done, too.

Right after this encounter we found a sunny spot for lunch. The snowfall had stopped earlier on, and we were now above the clouds. Looking out in westerly direction, we could only see clouds, and all of the ground was hidden by them. Only to the South we could see a few peaks of the Jerral Mountains piercing the clouds. This looked quite peaceful, and we enjoyed the vista silently for half an hour or so before we moved on. At this altitude, no other travelers or pilgrims were around, and we enjoyed the peaceful silence, as it kind of underlined the impressive view around us. Just between the two of us, words were not required to share our impressions, and the occasional look into each other's eyes as well as squeezing hands and sometimes hugging was good enough.

Late afternoon found us opening the door to High Hrothgar, after we had dropped Klimmek's supplies in the chest dedicated to that purpose outside of the building, and Arngeir welcomed us back. After we had exchanged a few greetings, T'mara decided to get right to the point:

"Master Arngeir, do you know anything about a shout to defeat Alduin?"

Arngeir was clearly shocked to hear that, and he growled: "Where did you learn of that? Who have you been talking to?"

T'mara replied: "It was recorded on Alduin's Wall in Sky Haven Temple"

Arngeir snorted and looked annoyed: "You learned that from the Blades, right? Of course. They specialize in meddling in matters they barely understand. Their reckless arrogance knows no bounds. They have always sought to turn the Dragonborn from the path of wisdom. Have you learned nothing from us? Would you simply be a tool in the hands of the Blades, to be used for their own purposes?"

I objected: "The Blades are helping us. We are not their puppets!"

"No, no, of course not." Arngeir admitted. "Forgive me. I have been intemperate with you. But heed my warning – the Blades may say they serve the Dragonborn, but they do not. They never have, and they never will."

T'mara wanted to know: "So, can you teach me this Shout?"

Arngeir shook his head: "No. I cannot teach it to you because I do not know it. It is called 'Dragonrend', but its Words of Power are unknown to us. We do not regret this loss. Dragonrend holds no place within the Way of the Voice."

I asked: "If the Shout is lost, how can we defeat Alduin?"

Arngeir thought about that question for a few seconds and then explained cautiously: "Only Paarthurnax, the master of our order, can answer that question, if he so chooses."

T'mara was getting curious: "You had mentioned Paarthurnax before, as fifth member of your order. Where can we find him?"

Arngeir explained further: "He is our leader. He surpasses us all in his mastery of the Way of the Voice. He lives in seclusion on the very peak of the mountain. He speaks to us only rarely, and never to outsiders."

Frowning at us and T'mara in particular, he added: "Being allowed to see him is a great privilege, and I do not think that you are quite ready for that."

T'mara turned to me, not sure what to say, and asked me: "Maybe we should come back at another time?"

While we digested Arngeir's response and started to turn around, Einarth decided to cut in and addressed his colleague, obviously with some agitation in his voice: "Arngeir, Rok los Dovahkiin, Strundu'ul. Rok fen tinvaak Paarthurnax!"

Arngeir pondered this interjection for a minute and then continued: "Dragonborn... wait. Forgive me. I was... intemperate. I allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment. Master Einarth reminded me of my duty. The decision whether or not to help you is not mine to make. Come. We will teach you a Shout to open the way to Paarthurnax, at least."

T'mara looked at me, and I could clearly see some relief on her face. We both did not want to have a heated discussions with the Greybeards, and maybe we should have made it clearer that we were not planing to abuse powers, but just sought for ways to do what we apparently had to do. Hopefully Paarthurnax was going to be a wise person and not subject to prejudices against Blades or others.

Arngeir and Einarth led us out into the courtyard towards the gate we had seen earlier. A small campfire was lit close to the gate. Once we were all close to the fire, Arngeir told us: "The path to Paarthurnax lies through this gate. I will show you how to open the way, and you need to use the 'Clear Skies' Shout for that."

He moved his hands and made the words for the new Shout appear on the ground, in that odd way only the Greybeard masters seemed to manage, and he whispered each word in turn: 'LOK...' 'VAH...' 'KOOR...'. T'mara stepped forward and quickly learned all of the three words, and Arngeir told her: "I will grant you my understanding of Clear Skies. This is your final gift from us, Dragonborn. Use it well."

Once this was done, Arngeir explained further: "Clear Skies will blow away the mist, but only for a time. The path to Paarthurnax is perilous, not to be embarked upon lightly. Keep moving, stay focused on your goal, and you will reach the summit."

We both thanked Arngeir, and then T'mara turned towards me and asked: "My dear, dusk is close. Maybe we should embark on this path upwards tomorrow rather than this evening?"

I nodded: "Yes, that is probably wise. Let's stay the night here and rest first."

After sunrise on the next day T'mara and I went outside of the building again, to the courtyard and close to the gate.

"No time better than this," I suggested, "why don't your try your new Shout now and see how it works?"

She nodded and shouted: 'LOK VAH KOOR' into the whirling storm outside of the gate. The storm abated into a moderate wind, and we carefully stepped through the gate. A small snow covered path was now visible leading upwards, and we followed it. Surprisingly, a few goats actually lived up here, not deterred by the normal storm and the cold. After a number of turns my wife needed to renew her Shout, and the howling winds abated again. Further up we also encountered a couple of ice wraiths, which we quickly disposed of.

Even now, in the middle of summer, every rock around us was frozen, snow was everywhere on the ground, and icicles were hanging down from all kind of protrusions. We needed to be careful not to slip on your path, but Bran, our Dawnguard husky, was happy; once or twice he even found an icy patch and glided on it, having a lot of fun, whereas most of the time he kept cautiously behind us. Following the narrow path further up, we realized that we were getting close to the summit and proceeded slowly and with care. Eventually we passed through the last turn and saw some structure which looked like a Word Wall. At this time we heard a dragon's roar, and a huge dragon came down, to settle on the Word Wall. Of course we got our weapons ready immediately, but a voice greeted us:

"Drem Yol Lok. Greetings, wunduniik. I am Paarthurnax. Who are you? What brings you to my strunmah…my mountain?"

We had not expected the leader and fifth member of the Greybeards to be a dragon, but it actually made sense. We sheathed our weapons and got closer to him, and T'mara stated: "I wasn't expecting you to be a dragon."

Paarthurnax replied: "I am as my father Akatosh made me. As are you… Dovahkiin. Tell me. Why do you come here, volaan? Why do you intrude on my meditation?"

T'mara admitted: "I need to learn the Dragonrend Shout, to defeat Alduin. Can you teach me?"

Paarthurnax came down from the wall, getting closer to us, and he said: "Drem. Patience. There are formalities which must be observed, at the first meeting of two of the dov. By long tradition, the elder speaks first. Hear my Thu'um! Feel it in your bones. Match it, if you are Dovahkiin! 'YOL TOOR SHUL!' "

Similar to when the Greybeards taught my wife a new Shout, the words somehow showed themselves on the ground; T'mara stepped on them, and Paarthurnax added:

"A gift, Dovahkiin. YOL. Understand 'Fire' as the dov do." He cast something in my wife's direction, thus properly helping her to understand and enable the new Shout. Well, not entirely new, as she had know the first word before, but now she should be able to use all three. Indeed the dragon encouraged her: "Do not be afraid. Faasnu. Let me feel the power of your Thu'um."

T'mara did as he asked, shouting all three words directly at the dragon, and he responded: "Aaah… yes! Sossedov los mul. The Dragonblood runs strong in you. It is long since I had the pleasure of speech with one of my own kind."

The dragon took his former place on the wall again, and we now asked a lot of questions, about the dragons in general, about Alduin, and all that. Paarthurnax also asked some questions, mainly about our background, our motivation to fight Alduin and to learn the Dragonrend Shout, and he carefully took his time prior to each of this replies. After what seemed to be hours of polite and slow conversation he finally told us:

"You have indulged my weakness for speech long enough. Krosis. Now I will answer your question. Do you know why I live here, at the peak of the Monahven – what you name Throat of the World?"

T'mara admitted that we did not: "No. Dragons like mountains, right?"

"True, but this is not the main reason. But few remember nowadays that this was the very spot where Alduin was defeated by the ancient Tongues. Vahrukt unslaad.. perhaps none but me now remember how he was defeated."

I prompted: "Using the Dragonrend Shout, right?"

Paarthurnax carefully responded: "Yes and no. Viik nuz ni kron. Alduin was not truly defeated, either. If he was, you would not be here today, seeking to… defeat him. The Nords of those days used the Dragonrend Shout to cripple Alduin. But this was not enough. Ok mulaag unslaad. It was the Kel – the Elder Scroll. They used it to... cast him adrift on the currents of Time."

T'mara was impressed and said: "An Elder Scroll; that's something special indeed. I have heard the lore about Elder Scrolls being kept at the center of the Imperial City. So, are you saying the ancient Nords sent Alduin forward in time?"

"Not intentionally. Some hoped he would be gone forever, forever lost. Meyye. I knew better. Tiid bo amativ. Time flows ever onward. One day he would surface. Which is why I have lived here. For thousands of mortal years I have waited. I knew where he would emerge but not when. With the Elder Scroll that was used to break Time, you may be able to… cast yourself back. To the other end of the break. You could learn Dragonrend from those who created it."

My wife asked: "Do you know where we can find an Elder Scroll?"

Paarthurnax responded, while slowly moving his head from side to side: "Krosis. No. I know little of what has passed below in the long years I have lived here. You are likely better informed than I."

I offered: "We could ask the librarian at the College of Winterhold, or maybe Esbern might have an idea, too."

We continued to talk for sometime, and the dragon suggested that we come back once we had found an Elder Scroll. He hinted that we might be able to revisit what he called the 'First Tongues' when we read the scroll here, close to the top of the mountain. Eventually, with the sun already close to the horizon, we took our leave and hurried down to High Hrothgar to spend another night there. Before we went to bed, we told the Greybeards about what we had learned, but, as expected, they also did not know where and how to find an Elder Scroll. We also asked Arngeir for a hint to find another Word Wall, and he suggested, in his usual careful way of speaking:

"We have heard a whisper of a Word. Give me your map, and I will show you where its echo can be found"

When he had added the location to our map, we found this to be a place called 'Skyborn Altar', close to Labyrinthian and southeast of Morthal.

Early morning light found us on our way down to Ivarstead, and the trip down gave us time for thinking and planing.

"Ok," my wife started while we walked, "let's try to summarize what we want to do next. Where do we start to ask for an Elder Scroll?"

"I think that Urag at the college really is the best bet we have." I suggested. "Let's ask him first, and if he does not know, we can still check with Esbern."

"All right, fine with me." T'mara nodded. "We also want to go to Fort Dawnguard to refresh your supply of special bolts and maybe get a puppy for Mila, right?"

"Yes, my dear, thank you for reminding me." I confirmed. "When we are in Whiterun again, we wanted to talk to Jenassa, as we have missed her a few days ago, and find out if she is interested to become a Blade. Anything else?"

"Yes, my love," T'mara added, "if possible, I'd like to visit the Word Wall Arngeir pointed out; southeast of Morthal, he said."

"Fair enough," I told her, "and I just remember something else. Vex suggested to check out 'Hob's Fall Cave' and look out for Isabelle. When we have our lunch break later on, let's get the map out and find the best order of tasks."

This we did, and after lunch we both looked at the map and pondered various options, until I got a plan: "Okay, I believe that we should get to Fort Dawnguard first to get more bolts and the puppy, if they have one, than go to Whiterun, deliver the puppy for Mila's birthday, and also check with Jenassa. If she agrees, bring her to Sky Haven Temple, from there head towards Skyborn Altar, and via Hob's Fall Cave finally get to Winterhold. Further actions will depend on what Urag can tell us. Okay for you?"

"Yes, sounds like a good plan." T'mara nodded happily. "You know, sometimes doing a good job as Dragonborn can be quite demanding, and I am glad that I have you to help me getting tasks organized."

We smiled at each other, took our time for a long hug and kiss, and finally walked on downwards. Wilhelm was delighted to see us again and had two glasses of milk ready quickly. We chatted a little, but kept our knowledge on Paarthurnax for ourselves, and soon we were ready for the bed after the long day.

As agreed, the next day saw us traveling towards Riften. Once there, we stayed in our cozy home for one night and moved on to Fort Dawnguard. Isran bade us welcome; he never seemed to sleep, and when prompted about that, he just said:

"Even with all my preparations, we can't be too careful. The monsters could strike at us at any moment."

Once we had moved inside, we went into the back part where the forge was to find Sorine Jurard, who investigated the old Dwemer schematics to further improve crossbows and bolts. After I had restocked my supply of various bolts for my crossbow, she asked:

"You have helped me before, and I've got more leads on additional Dwemer plans. Those last ones helped me immensely. If you could collect this one for me, it's sure to result in extraordinary success, I should think. I my information is correct, more plans should be found in or around Fort Fellhammer, most likely deep in the mines there."

"Well, we will certainly have a look when we have a chance to get there, or course."

In addition, I asked her:

"Sorine, do you know if you have any huskies available? I mean, not those fully trained against vampires, but young ones sorted out for any reason?"

"Hm," she replied, "Florentius might know."

Florentius was standing just a few meters from us, and she called over: "Florentius, do we have husky puppies not suitable for us?"

Florentius came over and told us: "Well, we have a few young ones we find not aggressive enough to start proper training. They are still good guard dogs, but we need to find other places for them. Why do you ask?"

"I am looking for a present to a girl who just loves huskies," I explained, "and I thought if you have a spare puppy, we might take it."

Florentius smiled: "This is a nice idea. Let me walk you to the kennel, and you can pick one."

We walked over, and we soon identified a cute female husky puppy; Florentius told us:

"She is a nice one, and her name is Rosie. She is quite eager to learn, but not fierce enough for our purposes. She will make a good family and guard dog for sure, and I trust you will make sure that she gets a good home."

T'mara nodded: "Yes, we will take good care of her, and her new home will be in Whiterun."

Bran got closer to us and sniffed at Rosie, and after a few minutes both animals indicated that they were fine with each other. We walked back to Riften on the same afternoon, with Rosie jumping all around us most of the time. Sometimes she was getting a little bit far off, but Bran paid attention and always made sure that she did not run off by accident. It almost looked like he slipped into a father's role with her, and it was quite nice to watch the two dogs together, the fully grown Bran and little Rosie, less than half his size.

Fortunately Rosie had received basic training already, so that she was trained to do her business outside and not in a house, as we learned when we spent the next night in 'Honeyside' again. We still needed to find out how to feed her properly, but we hoped that she could do some hunting on her own. Actually, we were likely to find out more when we walked towards Whiterun.

The next day started with lots of rain, so that we decided to spend another day in Riften. I got up early to walk Rosie, and the city guards smiled when they saw us. Later on I introduced her to some of the merchants arriving early, and finally I went home again for breakfast. T'mara had slept in and just woke up when I stepped into the house, and we enjoyed breakfast together. For the remainder of the day we got a few more supplies in the market, chatted with the vendors, and also met M'lissa again. My wife's cousin was in a very good mood today, and before we had a chance to get away, she insisted to tell us another joke:

"Once there was a competition of lumberjacks in southern Cyrodiil, and a small wiry Imperial also participated. He actually won one of the contests, and he was asked where we had learned to be that good in cutting down trees. He replied: ' I used to practice in the deserts of Elsweyr.' Of course people told him: 'But there are no trees in the Elsweyr desert!', and he smiled when he replied: 'No, not any longer, after I had been there; true.'"

We could not help ourselves and laughed, and in the evening, after some more chatting and talking with M'lissa and others, we went back to our home for another night.

Over the night the rain had mostly stopped, and during breakfast we decided to move on towards Whiterun today. Once we were out of the southwestern city gate, Rosie was running ahead with Bran on her heels, and later on we saw that Bran actually trained her on hunting rabbits, foxes, and other animals. I had Pammy stay closer to us, just in case that there another assassin waiting, but we had an easy and safe hike. As we had done multiple times before, we followed the road along the southern border of Lake Honrich and greatly enjoyed the scenery. When we stopped for a late lunch opposite of 'Treva's Watch', Rosie had managed to catch a rabbit, and she sat down close to us happily chewing on it. Later in the afternoon, close to Ivarstead, Rosie jumped into the river and tried to catch a fish, and after quite a few attempts managed to get one, which was going to be her dinner. Bran and Rosie stayed outside close to the river together with Pammy, while T'mara and I went into the inn to greet Wilhelm and order our dinner. Wilhelm was quite delighted to see us again so soon, and he joked:

"You know, if you come to visit me that much, I might as well keep that room free for you all of the time and not bother to rent it to others."

Bran and Rosie stayed outside for the night, and we found them swimming in the river after breakfast. When they saw us, they came running, and we could barely avoid getting all wet when they joggled their bodies to get the humidity out again. Today we were going to take the southern route via Helgen and Riverwood, and the trip had rarely been less boring with Rosie and Bran both jumping all around most of the time. Rosie was not really a puppy any longer and had had some basic education, but she behaved like a teenager with way too much energy; Mila would be quite happy about that, I thought. This time we entered the town of Helgen rather than walking around, as we knew the people in there. They did not have many news, but we learned abut their intent to slowly rebuild the town, which was good to hear. We promised to stop by again at a later time, and after chatting with a few people in Helgen and later on in Riverwood, we got to our home, Riverside Lodge, before dusk, and both Iona and Jordis swooned around Rosie, so that I decided to prepare supper for all of us.

Mila's birthday was going to be day after tomorrow, so that we rested for one day before going to Whiterun.

_[Author's Note: Both my daughters and I like the huskies in the game, and I usually took Bran with me when playing, just for fun. It should be nice to get one for a family, too.]_


	48. Chapter 48 - Finding a mate for Edric

**Chapter 48: Finding mate for Edric**

_[24__th__ – __28__th__of Midyear 4E 202]_

We did not know exactly what kind of birthday celebration Carlotta had planned for her daughter. I expected her to close her small market stall early and have a little bit of a party at her home in the city's Wind District. There weren't that many children of Mila's age in Whiterun, so that maybe they would have Braith, Lars, and Lucia as guests. The Jarl's own children would most likely not bother to attend; as I knew, they felt too 'aristocratic' to mingle with the other kids.

T'mara and I decided to only leave our nice home after lunch, and once we had eaten, we strolled towards the city of Whiterun. Just outside, close to the stables, we met Aela and Ria from the Companions, who had been out hunting. I introduced them to Rosie, and specifically Ria was getting quite excited:

"Oh, she is so sweet and cute! I think that I would love to have such a dog as well!"

That triggered a thought in me, and I asked: "Well, actually, there is something we could do about it, I guess. Rosie has started to learn how to hunt, and she will want to go hunting from time to time outside of the city. Until she is fully grown at least, it would be good to have somebody with her when she does that. Rosie is going to be a birthday present for young Mila Valentia, and the girl is way too young yet to be on her own on the Plains of Whiterun, with or without a dog. Maybe you could take the young husky out for hunting once or twice a week?"

The young Imperial squealed and nodded excitedly: "I would love to! You think Mila will be all right with that?"

"Of course," I confirmed, "I will make sure that she is. A few times you may be asked to take her with you, but normally Mila will have top stay in the city. Actually, I had planned to go out with Mila and Rosie tomorrow, like as part of her present. Would you want to join us and get a chance to get more acquainted both with the girl and the husky?"

"Absolutely!" Ria smiled, and she turned towards Aela: "Aela, is it all right for me to spend tomorrow hunting again, or is there something else I'd need to do?"

Aela smiled and replied: "No, that's okay. Actually, I am curious and may join as well. I'd like to see this little dog hunting. I do not think that she's faster than one of my arrows!"

We laughed, and this was settled; we entered the city together. For now I left T'mara and the dogs at Breezehome and made my way towards the market area. I found Carlotta just about to close up and learned that they were indeed having a party starting soon at their home; I pointed out that I'd show up later with a few guests and returned home, and Carlotta replied happily:

"Yes, please do that – Mila will be very happy to see you!"

A couple of hours later my wife and I made our way towards the Valentia home up in the Wind District, and even while we approached, we heard a lot of laughter and juvenile squeaking. When we knocked, Carlotta opened the door, and we saw a group of children happily running around inside; apparently they had a lot of fun. I entered the house on my own, and soon Mila noticed me. She squealed and jumped right into my waiting arms:

"Timotheus! I was not sure if you were going to be around, but I am very happy to see you! Can I ride on Pammy again?"

I smiled and replied: "Actually, I have something different in mind this time. Would you want to come out for a moment to greet your other guests?"

"Sure!" the young girl replied merrily, and I guided her out, where T'mara, Bran, and Rosie were waiting. First she noticed T'mara and gave her a hug, and then she also greeted Bran. Once she looked at Rosie, her eyes got wet; she knelt down to the little husky and gave her a tight hug without even hesitating. Rosie seemed to like the affection and responded by licking Mila's hand with her tongue as well as by wagging her tail enthusiastically.

Eventually Mila looked up at me and said: "I am getting so envious of you to have those dogs, but isn't this husky here a little bit young for all the fighting you do?"

"Indeed she is," I responded, "and her name is Rosie, by the way. Actually, I am looking for somebody who might want to take care of her. Would you happen to know such a person?"

Mila almost could not believe it: "You need someone to take care of this adorable little husky girl? On my birthday? Wait a second, is she … are you..." - the little girl was not sure what to say.

I just nodded and explained: "Yes, if you want her, she is yours to keep. I already talked to your mother, and she agreed."

Mila jumped into my arms again and hugged me, squealing: "Yes, of course I want her! Thank you so much!"

Carlotta smiled when she saw her daughter so happy, and she asked: "Doesn't a dog like that sometimes need to go hunting or so?"

I told her: "Yes, indeed, Rosie will want to go hunting occasionally, and she should. I have talked to my friend Ria at the Companions, and Ria will be delighted to go hunting with Rosie once a week or so."

Carlotta replied: "I am glad to hear that; Mila is way too young to go outside on her own."

"Yes, of course" I agreed. "However, Ria also offered to take Mila with her at least a few times, if this works for you. And, for tomorrow, if you agree, T'mara, Ria, and I would like to take Mila out for the whole day."

"Well," Carlotta pondered, "with one of the Companions around this should be safe enough, I guess. And for tomorrow, yes, of course, I will have to work again, and she has not been out much lately. Please feel free to pick her up in the morning."

For the rest of the day, Mila was inseparable from Rosie, and the husky did not really look like she had a problem with that.

T'mara and I spent the night at Breezehome again, and when we just started to eat breakfast one day later, there was a knock at the door. I opened, and Mila was outside, smiling widely. She had Rosie at her side and sputtered out:

"Good morning! I just started to walk Rosie and wanted to ask when we can go hunting!"

"Maybe we can first eat our breakfast?" I asked back. "By the way, have you had breakfast yet?"

"Oh, no," Mila replied and looked a little abashed, "I was so excited to walk Rosie that I forgot all about breakfast."

"All right, come in, you two".

Both girl and dog joined us for breakfast, and Bran shared some of his food with the little husky. Once we were done, we got ready and first walked Mila and Rosie back to their home. Carlotta was just getting ready to get to her market stall and was glad that Mila had had breakfast with us. We moved on to Jorrvaskr, and Ria and Aela were just coming out, greeted us and were also ready within minutes. Thus we all went down to the main gate, left the city and turned right towards the Plains of Whiterun.

We were lucky, and only few clouds were visible. The summer sun spread heat and light, and Aela admitted that she was almost sweating already. I asked her:

"Aela, want to get cooled down a bit?"

"How?"

"Like that!" I told her and send a small frost cloud in her direction. She shuddered a little and smiled: "Hey, that's cool! Maybe magic has its use after all."

Mila looked up at me and asked: "Can I learn to do that, too?"

T'mara assured her: "You probably can. Almost everybody can learn at least a little magic, and a simple and weak frost spell does not require a large magicka pool at all."

"You think so, really?" Mila was not so sure about that.

"Yes, of course!" I confirmed. "Not everybody wants to learn magic, though, and many Nords are opposed to magic in general. But you are an Imperial, and when your mother thinks you are ready, we can help you to find a magic teacher."

"That would be great!" the girl replied. "But, can we go hunting now?"

"We are almost there." I told her. "Why don't we sit over there on the boulders and watch your husky?"

It was difficult for the excited girl to sit down and watch rather than running around, but she managed once we had told her that she would scare all the game away if she jumped around all of the time.

Ria had taken Rosie with her, while Bran joined Aela. Bran, being an experienced and grown up husky, knew exactly what to do, like when to wait and when to attack, and he helped Aela to flush out a few rabbits first and an elk later on. Rosie was less patient, and she drove off some game first. Eventually, she encountered a young elk, but she was not big and tough enough to bring it down. Actually, I was not quite sure if the elk was more afraid of Rosie or the other way round. However, this changed once I conjured Pammy and sent her over – she had the elk down in mere seconds. Bran joined them a minute later, and he taught Rosie which parts of the elk meat to feed from.

Ria came over to Mila and me and commented: "Well, little Rosie has a lot to learn yet."

"Yes, she does" I laughed and confirmed.

Once Rosie was properly fed, she and Mila played on the plains, and in the evening we brought a happy and exhausted girl together with a likewise exhausted and happy husky back to her mother.

Before we retired to Breezehome, T'mara and I visited the 'Drunken Huntsman' in Whiterun. As usual when not being hired, Jenassa was there, sitting in her usual corner, looking grim, and eating her dinner. My wife and I also ordered dinner and asked Jenassa if we could talk to her. She was eagerly looking at us:

"Are you thinking about hiring me? Let it be known that I know nothing of fear and nothing of remorse. Pay my fee, and together we will vanquish any foe."

"Business is slow, isn't it? If you are interested, we might want to introduce you to an option for your life, provided that you are good enough."

"I am a lethal instrument, yours to command for a modest sum. I suggest you hire me before one of your enemies does."

"Yes, understood." I had not actually seen anybody who looked like they were about to hire the mercenary at this time, but we had more than enough money, so that I pushed a small purse with 500 septims in her direction and told her: "Please be ready to travel west with us tomorrow morning."

"I will be the shadow at your back."

When we got up on the next day and had had our breakfast, we picked up our new companion from the inn and started our trip. We planned to spend next night in 'Old Hroldan Inn' again, and we found out that Jenassa easily matched our walking speed. As planned, we stayed one night at the inn and moved on after breakfast on the next day. A dragon encounter interrupted our trip, and Jenassa proved that she was quite formidable with a sword. Once we had brought the beast down with bolts, arrows, and Shouts, Jenassa killed it almost without help. Yes, indeed, if Delphine was willing to accept her, she might turn out to be a very good Blade.

We led the mercenary into the cave and through the entrance into Sky Haven Temple, where we found Delphine and introduced her to Jenassa. Delphine looked at the mercenary and explained about the background of the Blades. Jenassa said:

"This looks like a reasonable and worthwhile task. If Timotheus and T'mara are willing to release me from my current contract, I am all in."

We confirmed that, and Delphine talked to Jenassa:

"Jenassa. The Dragonborn wishes to give you the chance to join the lost guardians of Tamriel. The dragon slayers. The Blades. Do you wish to become a Blade?"

"I do."

"Are you willing to trade away all claims and titles of your former life? To live here and devote yourself to protecting Tamriel from danger?"

"I do."

"Then by my right as acting Grandmaster, I name you a Blade, with all the privileges, rights, and burdens that brings. Godspeed."

Well, that had been quick. While Delphine went to introduce Jenassa to the site, Esbern now addressed us and wanted to know:

"Were the Greybeards any help? Did they know anything about the Shout used against Alduin?"

"No, but we know how to find out. We need an Elder Scroll."

"An Elder Scroll? That's not going to be easy to come by. However, if I were you, I would ask at the College of Winterhold; they have a deep interest in such things."

"Thank you for the advice. This is actually what we had planned to do – talk to Urag gro-Shub, the Orc librarian, at the College."

We had not mentioned Paarthurnax to Delphine and Esbern. Somehow I felt that Delphine was prejudiced against dragons in general, and maybe it was better to keep the knowledge of the fifth Greybeard from her, at least for the time being.

Sky Haven Temple was a large place; there were a few large and small rooms inside, and there was a big courtyard with a roofed corner, and the view from outside was spectacular on clear days. My wife was aware of that, and while Delphine and Esbern had their quarters inside, T'mara suggested that we spread our bedroll outside. We were in the middle of summer, and rain was not expected anytime soon, so that I willingly agreed.

When the sun vanished behind the hills, darkness lowly descended upon us, and we sat together arm in arm enjoying the view. One by one the stars came out, until eventually the Milky Way started to sparkle. T'mara whispered into my ear:

"This is so lovely. We need to do this more often, spend a night outside and see the stars. Besides, out here nobody is likely to hear when I make you squeal later on."

"What makes you think I am going to squeal?"

"Well, do you recall? Dragon Soul?"

"Of course I do, but will I really have to squeal because of that?"

"Let's find out!"

It was really a wonderful experience to wake up on the morning and see the first hints of daylight around, with the sky turning from black to dark blue/grey, and the first sun rays coloring some isolated clouds red before reaching the ground. Just as the sun came up, I kissed my wife good morning, and we enjoyed seeing the sunrise together.

Later on we went inside and had breakfast with Delphine, Esbern, and Jenassa, and we took our leave from them to pursue our own ways again – next stop: Skyborn Altar, southeast of Morthal. When we left the cave which served as entrance to the temple, I asked:

"Do you have a specific road in mind to get to our target?"

"No, not really. It is certainly too far for one day, but we are not in a hurry. Let's take it slow for today and spend next night either on the porch of 'Lund's Hut' or in Rorikstead, then travel to Morthal and spend a night there, and finally find out if we can get to our target through 'Labyrinthian'. Is that all right for you?"

"Sounds like a plan – let's go!"

As we had done recently, we passed 'Soljund's Sinkhole' and moved on to the plains west of Rorikstead. We found the same boulder we had used last time to have our lunch, with a nice view on some of the wild horses. T'mara had Edric flying, and he actually managed to scare off a few horses, until T'mara scolded him for that. After lunch my wife felt like having a quick nap, which she did right on my lap, and I enjoyed holding her while the sun was shining down on us.

When she woke up, T'mara looked up at the lone tower we could see looming up right northwest of us. According to our map this was 'Bleakwind Bluff', but the map did not tell us if if was inhabited and what we might be able to find there.

"You know," T'mara suddenly started to say, "what about making a detour and seeing what's up there?"

"Sure, what about you looking and I stay here and watch?" I teased.

"Oh no, you don't, you are coming with me!"

"I do? Don't I get to decide on my own?"

"No, you don't, and this is final."

"Yes, dear." I admitted defeat and got to my feet to join her.

We followed a small winding trail leading up the rocks. A couple of wolves defended the entrance to the tower, but were quickly defeated. Edric was scouting in the air again, and all of a sudden he swooped down to the tower's top platform, as if he was attacking. We did not have a clear line of sight, but there were no fighting noises. Edric seemed to be in peace with whatever he had found, and this was curious by itself, because he was not known for his friendly attitude to others.

Inside the tower, the stairs leading up were partially broken, but we managed to find our way, until we found a door leading outside to the to level. We opened it, and outside we found not only Edric, but a similar and smaller creature like him as well, another griffin quite obviously. The other griffin hissed at us, but Edric quickly calmed it down. T'mara smiled at me and told me:

"According to what I understand from Edric through our telepathic connection, this is a lone female griffin, and they seem to like each other. I guess that we are supposed to leave again."

Carefully we moved back and closed the door behind us. I did not know that those creatures existed in reality anywhere in Tamriel. It did not take long until a flash upstairs told us that Edric's summon time was up. T'mara summoned him again and he was up on the tower again within seconds. I looked at my wife:

"It's really none of my business, but do you think that a male griffin familiar and a real life female griffin can make little griffin babies together?"

"Well, I am not sure either, "T'mara responded, "but from what my connection to Edric tells me, they are at least going to try. Fortunately, I have practiced conjuration a lot, and his summoning period is now about a couple of hours already. That might just be enough time. Of course I do not know a griffin's gestation period, but we may want to check out this area again a few months later, I guess."

This had been quite an interesting encounter, and we slowly walked downhill again. We had enough supplies and decided unanimously to go to 'Lund's Hut'. The porch there seemed to call out for us, and we did not really miss an inn's bed, as our bedroll was comfy enough.

The next day started with a drizzle, and clouds covered the entire sky. Visibility was rather limited but we had been in the area before and knew how to find out way. Within less than one hour after breakfast we had reached the main road and turned north, towards the river. Not many other travelers were around this early in the morning, and we got to the bridge just south of 'Robber's Gorge' without an incident. As we were not in the mood to rout the bandit's lair again, we turned east, crossing the river branch, and walked towards 'Crabber's Shanty'. We had been here before and killed a dragon who had been about to attack the lone fishermen, but that person was absent this time; maybe he was in town to sell some of his fish. The morning drizzle had stopped by now and a few lone sun rays came out, so that we decided to stop for lunch here. While I started a campfire at some distance from the hut, T'mara killed a few mudcrabs and Pammy and Bran hunted for fish in the river. When the fire was ready, we got a supply of salmon and river betty as well as mudcrab, and I put smaller pieces on sticks to roast above the fire. Just when lunch was ready, the local fisherman returned; he had indeed been in town to sell fish. Naturally, we invited him to eat with us, and he gladly accepted.

"I am happy to see you folks again!" He was smiling at us and continued: "Sometimes it can be a little bit lonely out here, but the money you gave me after the last dragon attack was more than enough to get my hut repaired. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know."

After we had eaten, we took our leave from him and walked on towards Morthal.

A couple of hours later, after navigating some rough terrain and following a very small path which was not always clearly visible, we reached the main road and turned east on it. As we were getting closer to the city, more travelers were around, and we sometime stopped for a friendly chat. Most of the year the roads around Morthal were snow covered, but in summer they were not, and the vegetation around was in full action now, with flowers shining almost everywhere. Of course we took our time to pick some and extend our supply of ingredients, and so it took some time to get to Morthal. Just when we turned north from the main road to reach the city, a loud roar warned us of impeding danger, and a smaller dragon pounded down upon us. We barely had the time to scatter, as this was totally unexpected, and we both suffered from some bruises while finding cover behind rocks. The dragon blew frost clouds our way, and I heard T'mara squealing:

"This is my chance to use all three words of the fire Shout! Yeah!"

The dragon looked at her and turned his face towards her, ready to attack again, and my wife shouted: 'YOL TOOR SHUL!'.

All three words of the shout together had an effect that was so much stronger than just the first word. In a city, T'mara could probably burn down a house instantaneously, if she wanted to do so. The dragon was certainly more sturdy than a house, but a frost dragon and thus vulnerable to fire. The beast howled, and I was sure that this could heard from Morthal for sure. Meanwhile I had prepared my crossbow, and the first bolt of exploding fire hut the dragon just seconds after the Shout. It dropped down almost like a stone and crashed into the ground east of us. We rushed there to find the beast in a dragon mound; maybe the same mound it had been brought back to life by Alduin himself.

Before the dragon had time to recover, Edric scooped down, used his large beak to hack into one wing and flew off again. Pammy used the opportunity to bite into the other wing, and both familiars found a way to alternately attack from different sides, making it very difficult for the beast to counter the attacks. I continued to shoot bolts, and T'mara delivered the final and killing blow with her axe.

"That was nice teamwork!" I offered my comments once we had rested a bit and checked for injuries, which were only minor. "Maybe we should train coordinated fighting with our familiars on a regular basis."

We still managed to get into the city of Morthal before dusk and went right into 'Moorside Inn'. We had not spent much time in Morthal before, and the people there did not really know us. The innkeeper, a female Redguard called Jonna, greeted us:

"Finally, someone comes in. Kick off your boots, stay awhile. Let me know if there's anything I can help you with. I got nothing but time these days."

Hm, this sounded like business was quite slow in this city. But of course, with the raging Civil War, this was not really a surprise. While I did as she suggested and removed my boots, I dared to ask her about it:

"Is business in Morthal slow?"

"Slow?" She sighed. "No, it just ain't there at all. Few enough reasons to pass through Morthal before the war started. Now... Well, let's just say the front door doesn't get much use."

I decided to drop that topic and asked if we could have dinner and a room, and she responded:

"There ain't much to offer, but if you wanna place dry to spend the night, I'll rent you a room, of course."

We paid for the room in advance and found ourselves two chairs while waiting for dinner. While we were waiting, a male Redguard came in, followed by a child, a female Nord. The Redguard nodded in our direction, and he found a seat on the other side of the fire. We heard them talking, with the girl asking first:

"When I grow up, will I go to the College in Winterhold?"

"No, I don't think that will be necessary."

"But I'm learning about magic, and that's what they do there. Shouldn't I go?"

"The College is not the only place to learn about magic."

"But you went there, didn't you? Isn't that where you learned?"

"I was there only for a short time. Much of what I have learned has been on my own. And I will teach you. You have no reason to go there."

"But..."

"That is enough."

T'mara and I looked at each other; we had both noticed that the adult Redguard was clearly not a fan of the College; according to the conversation we had overheard and the way he was dressed, he was a mage. Now he had a second look at us and asked in our direction:

"You are new to Morthal. We have not spoken before. This is interesting."

I decided to answer politely: "Yes, we have only been her a couple of times before. Glad to meet you. By the way, the pretty Khajiit next to me is my wife, T'mara, and I am called Timotheus."

"Oh yes," he replied, "I am Falion, and the girl here is my adopted daughter, Agni."

He was not offering further information, and we did not ask. Agni, though, shot a question in our direction:

"Do you like magic? Falion says I'm good at learning. I like learning about magic."

We were not sure how to answer that, but it appeared that Falion did not like to talk further and pulled the poor child out of the inn again after saying a quick good night. When she brought our dinner, Jonna explained that Falion was her brother:

"Runnin' an inn weren't my plan. But my brother Falion decided to move here, so I joined him. Falion has his work to keep him busy, and I needed something to do. So, here I am."

She did not elaborate what Falion's work really was, and we did not ask; it was not our business. We enjoyed our meal and retired to our room soon after we were done.

_[Author's Note: Sometimes I wonder if there is a mod available which allows you to hand gifts to people, and if they like, it increases your speech skill or so. In the normal game, I think, all you can do is give something to your adopted children and to some followers, like Vilja – but this is also a mod.]_


	49. Chapter 49 - Yet another housecarl

**Chapter 49: Yet another housecarl**

_[29__th__of Midyear __– __1__st__of Sun's Height__4E 202]_

The next day started with pouring rain. This was not exactly inviting for a longer trip, and thus I suggested:

"T'mara, what do you think? Should we delay our trip to 'Skyborn Altar' for a day and just spend the day here? Maybe you'd want to go shopping for some time?"

She smiled at me and replied: "Actually yes, shopping sounds like a good idea. When we were here the last time, I did not get time for that. Will you also find something to do?"

"Of course I will," I replied, appreciating the fact that my wife did not expect me to spend half a day or so shopping together with her, "and I will certainly find some people to talk to. I should also talk to the Jarl and get a feeling of the overall situation here in Morthal."

This being agreed, we separated after breakfast. I started off at 'Highmoon Hall', the Jarl's longhouse and residence. Jonna had mentioned at breakfast that there was an odd burned out house in the city, and the Jarl might be interested in having somebody investigate.

When it was my turn to step forward, Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone, a female Nord, greeted me:

"So, life has brought you to Morthal, and to me. What purpose this serves, we will no doubt see. Welcome."

After a friendly and respectful greeting I stated: "I heard that you want someone to look into that house fire."

"Hroggar's house fire? He lost his wife and daughter in the blaze. My people believe it to be cursed now. Who am I to gainsay them?"

I asked what happened, and she told me: "Hroggar blames his wife for spilling bear fat in the fire. Many folk think he set the fire himself."

"With his wife and daughter in there, do you really think so?"

"Lust can make a man do the unthinkable. The ashes were still warm when he pledged himself to Alva."

"Why haven't you arrested Hrogggar then?"

"On rumor and gossip? No. But you, a stranger, might find the truth for us. Sift through the ashes that others are too fearful to touch. See what they tell you. Should you prove him guilty or innocent, I will reward you."

I took that as permission to investigate and decided that this was good enough. Just before leaving I tried to chat with her steward, Alsfur, and I asked him about some people behaving a little odd. I had seen people arguing a lot before entering the longhouse:

"What's going wrong in Morthal, if I may ask?"

He shrugged and told me: "There's news of rebellion against the Empire. Strange noises have been heard in the marshes at night. And then, the tragedy with Hroggar's home. The men simply seek wisdom. Everything will be fine."

Having seen how confused and angry some of the me had looked, I somehow I doubted that everything was just going to 'be fine'. However, he seemed unlikely to elaborate further, so that I took my leave. Looking around outside, the burned house was impossible to miss, and I went there and started to look around in the ruins. Suddenly a girl's shape, like a ghost, appeared in a corner, saying that her name was Helgi, and that she recalled a fire. She wanted to play hide and seek with me, but only in the night, so that 'the other player' could join in. Getting curious, I promised to be back at night, and she was gone.

Well, I needed to kill some time before nightfall and thus wandered around. I met Hroggar at the local sawmill; helping him with wood chopping seemed to be a good idea to get some first hand information, but except for his initial greeting:

"Here for work? Get an axe and bring me all the wood you can chop."

I failed to get much out of him, and he just uttered something like:

"I... I'm not one for talk. Try to keep to myself."

Nevertheless, chopping wood as a good workout for me, and doing that for him and the mill owner, Jorgen, was good exercise. When I walked back over the bridge again, I encountered a strong looking Nord. He looked at me and proudly stated without being prompted:

"I'm the best warrior in Morthal, and that's no boast."

"So, what are you doing here in Morthal?"

"Oh, well. You know. A bit of this, a bit of that. They haven't made me a guard, even though I've been asking. So I'll take odd jobs, anything that comes along for now."

"And you claim to be the best warrior here?"

"Want me to prove it? I bet a hundred gold I can take you, bare-handed."

"Right here, on the street? Challenge accepted!"

"Just your own two hands. Weapons and magic are out. Now let's see what you got!"

He was actually quite tough, but no match for me. We were both sweating when I finally had him down on the ground and he yielded, but he looked happy about it:

"Now that was a punch."

He handed me the money I had won, and he admitted: "You're a real fighter. I like that. You ever need my steel by your side, you just ask."

Looked like I had made a friend after all. Back in town I met my wife when she stepped out of 'Thaumaturgist's Hut', the local alchemist shop. She beamed at me and reported:

"The owner of this shop, Lami, is a dear. She told me that she had picked up the trade as a girl already, and that she was looking for a copy of the book 'Song of the Alchemists'. And guess what, I just so happened to have that book with me, and I happily handed it over. I can get a new copy anytime, I guess, and she was so happy about it, that she taught me a thing or two about alchemy as a reward!"

Finding something useful to do in the afternoon turned out to be a challenge; despite being the main 'city' in Hjaalmarch hold, Morthal was tiny, so that we eventually left the city borders and strolled around outside, collecting some more ingredients, including some my wife had promised to gather for Lami. While we were walking, I told T'mara about what I had learned related to the burned down house and Helgi, and as soon as darkness descended, we went looking for her again.

She was not in the destroyed house, but we saw some kind of light behind it; when we looked closer, there was a small graveyard with a few lit candles, and we approached. Just before I wanted to address Helgi, though, we were attacked by a vampire. Our fighting instincts kicked in, but before we could start to attack Bran barked and jumped on the vampire; that was what he was trained for, after all. He was smart enough to jump back right away, and a few fireblasts from us defeated the enemy before it could hurt us. Helgi came up from her gave and seemed to be happy that we found her before 'the other player', Laelette, had. Helgi told us a sad story about Laelette burning down the house with her and her mother in it; she may have tried to turn Helgi into a vampire to save her, but was too late and failed.

Just when Helgi was done with her quick summary, Thonnir, Laelette's husband, came out and noticed his deceased wife:

"Laelette? I thought she left to join the Stormcloaks. Ah! My poor Laelette!"

I asked him:

"Did you notice anything strange before she left?"

He pondered that and told me: "She began to spend a lot of time with Alva. Yet just a week before, she despised her. In fact, the night she disappeared, she was supposed to meet Alva. Alva told me later that she never showed up. I never got to tell her good bye."

I guessed: "I think they may have met after all."

He looked at me with big eyes: "You think Alva...but that means... By the Eight! You think Alva is a vampire?"

I nodded: "It's a possibility we can't ignore."

He shouted at me: "No! You're wrong. You must be wrong. Laelette may have met her fate out in the marsh. I refuse to believe Alva had anything to do with this. There is no way you can prove it to the Jarl."

With those words he left again, apparently very distraught. I looked at T'mara, and she suggested: "I guess that we will have to search his house and see if we can find Alva, right?"

"Yes, I think so, too," I nodded, "but we better wait until he has left home for work; he may not be reasonable about the search, and I really do not want to have to kill him."

Thus we went back to the inn, retired to our room, and tried to get to sleep without thinking about vampires too much.

After breakfast on the next day, we noticed Thonnir going to work, and we walked over to his house. After checking that we were not observed, I quickly picked the lock and we sneaked inside. If we wanted to find a vampire during the day, searching the basement seemed to be the most plausible option, and thus we went downstairs right away. We found what we assumed to be Alva sleeping in a coffin, and Bran's behavior confirmed that she was indeed a vampire; we managed to kill her before she was fully awake.

We found a journal next to her body, telling us how all the events unfolded, including how she was turned by a master vampire called Movarth, the scheme to enslave the local townspeople of Morthal for their blood, and even the start of our investigation. It was obvious that we needed to hand over this journal to the Jarl, and we walked over immediately. She listened to us, read the relevant parts of the journal, and said, giving me a small amount of septims:

"So it's true. That traitorous bitch! Morthal owes you a debt. Here. You were promised a reward for solving the crime, but I need one more favor from you. Morthal is still in danger. The journal mentions Movarth, a master vampire I thought was destroyed a century ago. I'll gather together some able-bodied warriors to clean out Movarth's lair. They'll be waiting outside for you to lead them."

I was tempted to tell her to forget about that; this was a local problem, and not exactly what we were her for. However, it was true that we were at least somewhat experienced in fighting vampires, and maybe the local guards might be not so well suited for the task, so that I swallowed the response I had initially had in mind. My wife and I left the Jarl's longhouse, and indeed, the steward started to gather men and women together for the planned raid on the vampire lair. I took my wife to the side, out of hearing distance from the others, and looked at her:

"Dear, is it only me or are you also feeling kind of misused? Why does the Jarl assume that the task to lead the pose should automatically done by us? Somehow I think that they all want us to clean dirty laundry for them so that they don't get their own hands dirty!"

T'mara laughed at my outburst and replied: "Well, you are right, of course. But I see it from a different perspective: We are getting more chances to hone our fighting skills, we get to collect the best loot, and are usually rewarded nicely, not only with septims and weapons, but also with favors. It is also good to be a Jarl's friend, isn't it?"

I admitted: "Hm, you have a good point. I just don't like others to decide what I am to do."

T'mara smirked: "Love, you have given up on that when you decided to stick with me and help me do my Dragonborn work!"

I smiled at her: "True, but you can always make decisions for me – that's perfectly all right!"

While he had our conversation, the posse was almost complete, and they looked at us expectantly. Thonnir seemed to be the leader of the group, and he eagerly looked at us and asked if we were ready.

"Where do we need to go to?" I asked back.

"Just follow my lead into the marshes north of the city" was the answer.

Thus we marched through the city, passed the sawmill and left via the northern gate. A couple of frostbite spiders got in the way, but were quickly and efficiently dealt with. We passed some deathbell flowers and saw a number of giant lichen on the ground, until we reached the cave entrance Thonnir declared to be 'Morvarth's lair'. Upon seeing that, the mood in the group changed rapidly. While they all had seemed to be eager to look brave and strong and challenge the master vampire, they now lost most of their bravery when seeing the cave entrance. Actually, I thought that most of them would be more or less useless in a serious fight, and maybe T'mara and I with our familiars would fare better alone than with them.

Thus, when the first few cowards timidly suggested to wait outside and 'guard our back', I told them that my wife and I would handle the vampire, and we would be glad if all of them guarded the cave entrance.

This being decided T'mara and stepped into the cave. For our safety, I conjured Pammy and had her scout ahead together with Bran. A narrow passage led forward and down, and once we had followed it into a larger room, Pammy had already disposed of a couple of frostbite spiders and was now joining Bran, who was attacking a vampire thrall. They succeeded in doing that before T'mara and I got a chance to get involved, and I commented on that:

"With those capable companions we'll soon be able to relax and leave the hard work to them; what do you think?"

"Yes, maybe" T'mara smiled at me.

The large room had three other exits, and we did not know which one to follow first. We decided to start with the right one and found this option to be only moderately rewarding. Some loot was there and a lone skeever, but that was it. The center exit lead to some kind of deserted bedroom and almost no loot. The left one, finally, seemed to be the important passage. We sneaked forward slowly and say another vampire thrall; T'mara shot it down with her 'Bow of the Jedi'. Following a few more turns of the passage, another larger room opened in front of us, and despite our sneaking the master vampire at the other end, who was currently feasting together with two lesser vampires, detected us right away. He started to taunt us, telling us that we would never be able to defeat him, and offering a quick kill if we just submitted to his obvious superiority. As the three vampires stood close to each other and we knew quite well that vampires were hurt a lot by fire, T'mara shouted her 'YOL TOOR SHUL!' right at them; the two lesser vampires perished right away, but Movarth came out only slightly hurt. He was obviously getting angry and attacked us with frost and shock spells; Pammy used the opportunity and jumped forward, almost biting his leg off. This distraction enabled me to aim my crossbow and send a few bolts of exploding fire, while T'mara used her strongest fireballs. Movarth was now severely hurt, but used his powers to partially heal himself. He used his one-handed sword and actually managed to cut Pammy's head off, so that my familiar vanished with a flash. I did not enjoy seeing that at all, but knew that I'd able able to conjure her again without injuries. By now I had my own greatsword out and parried with the master vampire, who was still attacked by my wife's fireballs. He was a very tough opponent, and I had to be careful not to be defeated by him. I hit him a few times, and when my wife called to step back, I jumped back and Movarth was hit by another 'YOL TOOR SHUL', immediately followed by my own strongest fireblast. Before he had a chance to recover and absorb more health from us, I ran my greatsword through his chest, pulled it out again and cut his head off.

The loot we found once we had rested was not great, but we were happy that we had defeated the master vampire Movarth. When we left the cave again, Helgi's ghost appeared, and the girl thanked us. We told her:

"We have avenged you and your mother and killed the master vampire Movarth."

"You did?" she replied and yawned. "Maybe that's why I'm so sleepy now."

With those words the ghost disappeared again, and we hoped that the girl could now rest in peace.

We joined the posse in walking back to the town, and on the way I harvested some of the giant lichen on the ground. Back in town, Thonnir, T'mara and I entered the Jarl's longhouse. Jarl Idgrod was very pleased to hear about our success, and when she had learned all details, she asked me to step closer and said formally:

"Timotheus, you have been a central part in resolving the vampire threat in our city and to defeat the master vampire Movarth. You have also helped many of my citizens, and you have shown that you are properly known in my hold. As reward, I grant you this blade, the 'Blade of Hjaalmarch', and I bestow the title 'Thane of Hjaalmarch' on you. A personal housecarl is now available to you, and you are entitled to purchase land in my hold if you opt to do so. Congratulations, Thane Timotheus!"

I was just starting to think that her speech was somewhat different from what I had heard before from other Jarls, when she added:

"I'll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now."

I groaned inwardly; this part really must be some part of ritual. But all right, I could leave now. At the door leading outside a sturdy Nord waited and greeted me:

"Honor to you, my Thane! I am Valdimar, your housecarl, and I am going to be your sword and your shield."

"Nice to meet you, Valdimar; please come outside so that we can talk further."

I looked for a quiet corner to talk and introduced him also to T'mara. He was properly impressed when he learned that she was Dragonborn, and even more when we told him that we were already Thanes of a number of other holds. Nevertheless, we did not want him to feel unneeded, and I said:

"Valdimar, it is really good to have another housecarl. In order to get the Dragonborn business done, we need to embark on dangerous adventures, and the more swords we have fighting with us, the better. One of our next tasks is to find a dragon lair at 'Skyborn Altar', and your support there for us will be very valuable. Which is your preferred style of fighting, if I may ask?"

The Nord housecarl replied: "I am glad that you actually ask about that. I am proficient in one-handed weapons and heavy armor, and I am decent in destruction, alteration, and restoration magic."

"It is good to see another Nord not being afraid of magic" T'mara commented.

"How many others do you know?" the housecarl asked.

"Well, my husband of course," T'mara responded, "and there is also Onmund, the Nord student at the College of Winterhold."

"They have a Nord student there?" Valdimar asked curiously.

"Indeed they do," I confirmed, "and we actually plan to get there again quite soon. If you'd like to spend some time there, you are welcome to do so."

We were all quite exhausted after the day's events and decided to retire to our room. We paid for another room for our new housecarl and asked him to join us for breakfast on the next day.

Right after breakfast on the next day the rain stopped, and the clouds were thinner; it looked like the sun might come out later on. We prepared to get moving, and while we got ready, Jonna, the innkeeper, asked us if we were interested in a bounty task. She had overheard us talking abut 'Skyborn Altar', and apparently there was a hold bounty on the dragon which had been seen there. We could as well take care of that and thanked her for the information, before we shouldered our backpacks and moved south, out of the city, to meet the main road.

My new housecarl had grown up in this area and knew they way to our target better than we did, and he took the lead. We followed the main road east for some time, until he stated:

"This side road here to our right gets us to Labyrinthian. It's known as a dangerous area, and trolls are known to look for prey there. However, the shortest way to Skyborn Altar is right through there, and I should believe that the three of us should be able to manage – what do think, my Thane?"

"Indeed we should, specifically once we add our familiars to the count" I nodded and conjured Pammy, while T'mara got Edric appearing. Valdimar was visibly impressed and marveled at them:

"Wow, I have never seen familiars like those! I haven't dabbled much in conjuration, but I happen to know that most mages have something like a wolf or so as familiar."

"Well, yeah, I guess that we are different" I conceded. "Mine is a Pahmer, like the semi-sentient Pahmers in Elsweyr, and my wife's is a griffin. We have only seen one life griffin before; they seem to be not common in Tamriel at all."

Concluding the introductions, we moved up the side road towards Labyrinthian. Only about twenty minutes later the first walls blocked our view, and we had to step up some stairs to get ahead. Pammy jumped ahead, and we saw her attacking a frost troll. It was a tough fight for her, as the Frost Troll managed to heal itself at least partially, but Bran and Edric joined the fight, and with joined efforts they managed to ring the beast down. From up there we saw a few more Frost Trolls in the distance, and T'mara and I shot bolts and arrows. My bolts of exploding fire in particular caused a lot of damage to them, and two or three arrows and bolts shot in rapid sequence usually overcame their healing ability. Valdimar got curious about my crossbow:

"My Thane, that is an impressive weapon. Where did you get it from, if I may ask?"

"It is from the Dawnguard," I explained, and they have made quite some progress reverse engineering some old Dwemer weapons. I am working together with one of the experts for ancient weapons, and the crossbow has an amazing range. It is not so useful for close quarters as reloading takes longer than with a bow, but good bolts can easily penetrate even heavy armor. I have special bolts of exploding fire for creatures taking damage from fire and bolts of frost for creatures taking damage from frost."

"I have heard about the Dawnguard," he nodded, "aren't they a group of people preparing for fights against vampires?"

"Yes, they are," I confirmed, "although vampires are not a big threat in Tamriel, at least at this time. They seem to believe that a vampire invasion is imminent, but that still has not yet shown."

"Hm, like Movarth north of Morthal?" Valdimar asked.

"Maybe," I replied, "but maybe even stronger ones. They claim that vampire activity overall is increasing, and they are looking for more indications. T'mara and I are both members, and sometimes we stop by and report on our findings. I am also helping them by searching for hidden schematics to improve the crossbows and bolts further."

A couple of more Frost Trolls had been hidden from our view by some small stone buildings, and while we walked ahead, they noticed us and attacked. Valdimar had his big sword out in no time and hit the first one, while T'mara countered the second one with her axe. With Pammy's and my support, those two were quickly vanquished, so that we could look for the road to 'Sykborn Altar'. Valdimar lead us in the proper direction, and once we had passed around some more stone buildings and walls, we could see more stairs leading up, in southern direction. We took them and turned left right after passing a huge stone arch, and Valdimar told us that we'd be at our target in about ten more minutes.

Indeed, we crossed a small open area and a silver ore vein, and we saw another set of stairs leading up. Having been warned about a dragon, we sneaked forward cautiously, and when we had almost reached the top, there was indeed some kind of altar, a big curved wall behind it, and a sleeping dragon right on top of it.

I asked my new housecarl:

"Valdimar, have you ever fought a dragon before?"

"No, I can't say that I have" he replied.

"Okay, but you said that you are decent in destruction magic." I further asked: "Can you cast both fire and frost spells?"

"Sure I can" he confirmed.

"Good to hear," I continued, "as our first order of business is to find out if this dragon is a fire or a frost dragon. Those two types are the ones we have encountered so far, and we will find out as soon as we are under attack. Use fire blasts if it is a frost dragon and frost spikes if we are attacked by a fire dragon; this will do best to exploit the dragon's weakness. Be careful with your sword when the beast is down later on, as it can also be deadly on the ground."

"Understood, my Thane!" Valdimar nodded.

T'mara and I started the fight with a simultaneous shot from her bow and my crossbow. Both were full hits, the dragon jolted up and searched for us. We had found good cover and thus got another shot out before we were attacked, and it turned out that the beast was another frost dragon. When it started to hover for another attack, T'mara got off her full power 'YOL TOOR SHUL' shout, and the dragon shuddered visibly; it almost crashed to the ground, but recovered just in time. The beast flew a large circle and returned for another attack. This time both bolts and arrows and a fireblast from my housecarl hit it, and it crashed down right in front of the altar. We continued to attack both with weapons and spells, and the dragon tried to hit us with immense frost clouds. A few times we got almost hits and could feel the cold, but we continued our attacks. I used an opportunity to jump forward and stick my greatsword into the left side junction between chest and wings and jumped back again right in time, and I saw Valdimar doing the same on the beast's right side. However, he was a little too slow jumping back and got caught by the dragon's tail, hitting him on the side and throwing him back. My wife and I did not have time to check on him as we were busy evading the dragon's last efforts to survive, but our joined efforts killed it off, and the dragon soul got absorbed by T'mara, with Valdimar watching from where he was on the ground. Being told that someone was Dragonborn and seeing it with your own eyes were two different things, and he seemed to be quite in awe.

We moved over to my housecarl and asked how we was doing. He held his left arm and told us:

"I think that my arm is broken, and my shoulder hurts."

T'mara had some experience with those injuries by now, and she managed to set the arm in the right position, so that she could now safely cast restoration on Valdimar, targeting both his arm and his shoulder. While he had some knowledge of restoration magic himself, he admitted freely:

"This is some strong magic you are having. My own is good enough for scratches and bruises, but not sufficient for a broken arm. Thank you!"

While T'mara continued her efforts, I explained:

"We realized that our business with fighting dragons and all is likely to cause injuries, and we spent some effort and time improving our restoration magic, also with help from the mages at Winterhold."

Valdimar was still a little dazzled from recent events, and while he recovered, T'mara stepped closed to the altar. While I could only see ancient writings on the curved wall, she looked like in trance for a few minutes, and when she turned back, she told me that she had just learned 'KRAH', the second word of the 'Frost Breath' Shout.

In the background I could hear my housecarl talking to himself:

"Wow, got to be housecarl to the Dragonborn's mate; that is something indeed."

_[Author's Note: Yes – yet another housecarl to keep occupied! It is very fortunate that they do not need to get paid :-)_

_Regarding the vampire thread: At this time, Serana has not yet been found, and overall vampire activity is relatively low.]_


	50. Chapter 50 - The Pale Lady

**Chapter 50: The Pale Lady**

_[1__st__ – __3__rd__of Sun's Height__4E 202]_

Here around 'Skyborn Altar', we only found a little bit of loot rather than a big dragon's treasure, and once we had carefully searched the area for anything we might have missed, we discussed how to proceed further. As we had done a bounty task for Morthal, it might be good idea to return to the city briefly to report on that, and we were not in a hurry anyway. Thus we walked back to the hold's capital the same way we had come, through Labyrinthian again, and when we were back in Morthal, I reported to the Jarl's steward and collected the bounty money. We spent another night at the inn and got off again early in the morning one day later. Valdimar was curious about our next goal:

"Say, my Thane, where are we heading to now?"

I explained: "Our next target is a place called 'Fort Fellhammer', east of here. We are looking for another set of Dwemer schematics to help improving crossbows, to deliver to Fort Dawnguard later on."

"Cool," he replied, "do we know if this Fort is inhabited? I have not been there for some time."

"No, we don't," T'mara answered, "but those places are frequently bandits' lairs nowadays. We will be glad to have you with us!"

Valdimar smiled, and we proceeded along the road leading east, until we encountered a hamlet called 'Stonehills'. A Nord with the name of 'Pactur' was in charge of a mine there, and I tried to initiate some conversation:

"You're out in the middle of nowhere here, aren't you?"

"Don't have to tell me twice. But then, I'm not the one that buried iron under these mountains."

"Do you own the mine?"

"No, and before you ask, it's not for sale."

"I wasn't asking, I am just curious."

"I'm just protecting Bryling's investment. She's the owner, even though we're the ones here doing all the work. She's already come down hard on us for missing shipments. Likely to do it again, since we're late."

"Can't you reason with her?"

"Can't do that and keep an eye on things here at the same time. But, if you happen to go to Solitude, you could talk to her perhaps..."

"Sorry, pal, but we are heading in the other direction. Maybe some other time."

"Won't be 'some other time' at this rate."

I was feeling a little bit sad that we could not help here, but it was not humanly possible to do everything we got asked. Being companion to the Dragonborn clearly define priorities, most of the time at least.

To our surprise we even saw an Argonian miner just ending a shift, and we overheard part of a conversation between him and another miner:

"Is everything well with you, my scaly friend?"

"Teeba-Ei is cold, but Teeba-Ei works hard as always."

"Yes, well... That's all we ask of you. Carry on."

"Yes sir."

Eventually we moved on and continued to follow the main road, until it turned left. A small side road lead east, much more the direction we wanted to follow, so that we took that one. From the junction we could see an odd structure, like a stone pavilion, with something like a platform in it, not very far away to the north. Looking at it, I turned to Valdimar:

"Say, do you happen to know what that structure in the distance is? I have seen a few other structures like that up her in the north, but every time I checked, the gates were closed and locked, and even lockpicking failed to get me inside."

Valdimar responded: "I do not know for sure, my Thane, but legends say that those places grant access to a mystical location called 'Blackreach'. Nobody seems to know where the entrance is and what to find there, though."

"Blackreach?" My wife now got involved. "I seem to recall that our two Dovahtwin girls mentioned that name..."

"Yes, you are right, they did" I confirmed.

"Dovahtwin girls?" Valdimar got curious, adding: "You got children already?"

While we started to follow the small trail leading east, we told him about the two girls we had encountered in Riften, and that we'd meet them again in Winterhold. A few minutes later, we got to a set of stairs leading up again, and a Nordic ruin opened up at the top of the stairs. Just as we took in the view, a few arrows passed close to us, and one of them actually hit Bran in the side. We dove for cover right away, and T'mara healed Bran quickly after pulling out the arrow. From our cover we noticed that some bandits were heading in our direction, but some others seemed to attack one or two of their own kind. The ones heading towards us were quickly disposed of; they disregarded cover and were targeted and hit by our bolts and arrows. When we came close to the ruin, we found a female bandit defending against two of her male comrades, and we hesitated to get involved. T'mara suggested:

"Kind of a good idea that they now decide to fight against each other; saves us the effort to clean up, what do you think?"

I had to admit that I agreed, though it still hurt to see them fighting; I would never get used to that, I guessed. Eventually only the female bandit was left, and although she was wounded, she looked suspiciously in our direction. The brave woman even dared to challenge us:

"Who in Dagon's name are you? Speak, or I'll cut you down where you stand."

In 'Dagon's name'? Seriously? That did not speak for her, in my opinion at least. Nonetheless I held up my hand and replied:

"Wow, hold on; I don't think that you are in a condition to fight us. Would you mind telling us what's going on here?"

"*Sigh* I was part of the gang in the ruins here. Friend of mine went crazy and stole the boss' sword. They blamed me for it. Look, I'm done here. Mop the floor with these idiots for all I care. Just get out of my way."

We decided to just let her go, but we got interested about what we might find in the crypt. I turned to Valdimar:

"What do you think, housecarl? Ever been in a Nordic ruin before? Feel like exploring that one together with us?"

"I am all in, my Thane – lead the way!"

T'mara also opted for going in, and so we were in agreement. First, of course, we were going to check the bandits' bodies for loot. There wasn't much, but we wanted to make sure that we had not missed anything important. When entering the crypt, we noticed another two bandits close by, apparently guarding the entrance. They were sitting at a table and maybe playing a game, but were warned by the noise of the opening and closing stone door. In usual bandit manner they ran forward towards us, but one of them was killed by Pammy and the other one by Valdimar. Just when my housecarl and I were about to check their bodies, T'mara yelled and blasted a fireball above my head. When I looked up, a mage had come out from behind a corner, and T'mara's spell had prevented him from attacking us. I was upon him with my greatsword before he could do anything else.

Cautiously we investigated the room and the branches of passage here, and we found a path through a caged walkway, leading to a few connected rooms, with lots of beds, bedrolls, and dressers. We noticed a few logs and journals, and after reading them we felt encouraged to advance to a place called 'Frostmere Depths' further down. The notes mentioned a 'Pale Lady' and an odd sword multiple times, both apparently driving the bandits and explorers crazy. After fighting a few more bandits, we eventually found a door leading further down, and the passage opened up into some kind of small underground forest. Right after the door one of the bandits was on the ground, badly wounded. He tried to utter a few words, but died before we could help him. Further down we could see a lone Khajiit fighting a wisp mother, but he was apparently losing. We were undecided about either helping him, a suspected bandit, or the wispmother, as both were likely to be hostile, and before we were able to make up our mind, the Khajiit bandit was dead. The wispmother turned towards us and attacked, but we had had plenty of time to prepare. I knew from a book that they were supposed to have a weakness to fire attacks, and when the three of use blasted fireballs at her almost at the same time, she was weakened enough for me to kill her with my fire enchanted greatsword.

T'mara sighed: "I always have a bad feeling and regret when we have to kill such a beautiful wild creature, and I wish that we could exist in peaceful harmony. But I guess that they can't be reasoned with."

I hugged her and agreed: "Yes, I feel the same. We did not have a choice here, but maybe we should ask around if there is a spell or even a Shout for pacify and calm creatures."

Valdimar had looted the bandits' corpses now and showed us what he had found. The most outstanding object was a beautiful sword, which was called 'The Pale Lady' according to a tiny inscription. It had an enchantment for 'Fear' and 'Frost', and it had a high base damage value. My housecarl admired it, and I whispered to my wife, suggesting to give it to him, and she nodded – she was happy with her axe and had no need for a sword.

Thus I told Valdimar: "I see that the sword you carry is not the best. Why don't you keep this new blade for you?"

"My Thane," he replied, "this is too valuable for me!"

"Nonsense," I told him, "it is in our own interest to have you properly armed, so that you can defend us better!"

"Well, if you put it that way..." he smiled, not needing any further convincing.

While we talked, T'mara had heard something, and she slowly moved towards one side of the altar the wispmother had come from. She started to smile and looked like in trance; I had seen that look on her before when she had found a word wall. And indeed, she came back a few minutes later, proudly telling us that she had learned a new Shout – the second word of the Ice Form Shout. A locked chest on the other side of the altar got us a chance to practice lockpicking; Valdimar turned out to be not so good and failed the Master level lock, while T'mara showed quite some nimbleness with her fingers, which was quite astonishing considering that her hands were actually more like paws.

Once we had carefully double checked that we had not missed anything, we found our way out of the crypt, and we noticed that the day was almost over. We wouldn't be able to get to a town or inn for the night, and I suggested to camp at the edge of the forest. Even up here in the north, night temperatures were relatively mild at this time of the year, and Valdimar also had a bedroll with him; there would not be a need for tents. Valdimar and I started the camp and the fire, and T'mara came back soon with a few rabbits she had shot, so that we could enjoy a hot dinner. Valdimar offered to take most of the night watch, but I refused, telling him that Bran and Pammy were guards enough. He seemed to hesitate, but I re-conjured Pammy, and she growled teasingly at him, so that he was quick to agree.

Once during the night I heard Bran barking and Pammy growling at some distance from us, but I knew that there was no need for alarm; they had probably driven off a lone wolf or maybe even a bear. Quickly I got back to sleep and continued sleeping until the morning sun rays woke us. Our next goal was going to be 'Fort Fellhammer', hoping to find some more advanced Dwemer schematics there.

Valdimar prepared breakfast, we rolled up our bedrolls, and we were one the move again. For a couple of hours we had to find our way through wilderness with barely a path being visible, and Bran and Pammy enjoyed that. There was a lot of green around us, but the peaks of the mountains south of us were snow covered. Various flowers competed with each other, and we took our time enjoying the beautiful nature. Eventually we met the road coming down from Dawnstar, and I estimated that the Fort was less than one hour to the southeast. When we could see the walls from the distance, we first stopped for lunch and discussed attack options.

"I do not think that there will be a chance to reason with the bandits we are likely to encounter, right?" T'mara asked.

Valdimar answered for me: "No, not really, that would be a first."

I suggested: "Valdimar, maybe we can try to sneak our way in. Most bandits probably won't even see us."

My housecarl snorted: "Yeah, maybe you can pull this off, but I am not good at sneaking at all. Always been a fighter in heavy armor; no need for sneaking."

I further asked: "Do we know which locations we will find there?"

Valdimar replied: "I have been here before, and I know that there is a garrison and a mine. We do not know where the schematics you are looking for might be located, but you could have a chance to sneak through most of the mines, provided that you can enter through the door in the courtyard undetected."

"T'mara, what do you think?" I asked my wife. "Shall we try to sneak through the mines, with Pammy at our side? If we find what we are looking for in the mine, the bandits may never learn that we were there."

The Khajiit smiled and nodded: "Yes, this is going to be fun, and we should get a chance to practice our sneaking skills further."

"This implies that you, Valdimar, will have to stay back," I told my housecarl, "and Bran will stay with you, as well as Edric. If you see us getting detected or the bandits looking for us at least, you can start a little distraction from here, like shooting a few arrows, although the distance is too large to hit something. Edric will also serve as distraction if needed. All right?"

Valdimar nodded: "As much as I dislike not being able to guard your back, I will do as you see fit, my Thane."

T'mara and I made sure that we both had our rings supporting our sneaking skills on the fingers and that we had a few potions with us to further enhance sneaking, if required, and we slowly moved ahead. Pammy was a natural sneaker, and she was as good as we were with our rings. We actually managed to get to the big gate undetected, but then one of the bandits must have sensed a movement and was looking in our direction. He did not get a chance to investigate, though, as I noticed Edric circling above the fort, out of easy arrow range, but threatening nonetheless. One the bandits called:

"What is that flying monster, by the Eight?"

"Too small to be a dragon!" Another one called out.

Anyway, the bandits were distracted, and we managed to sneak our way into the mine entrance. There were a few bandits around, some of them busy mining iron ore, and some others drinking and eating, but none of them noticed us sneaking past them. We proceeded to the lower level of the mine, and after more winding passages and corridors we finally were about to enter a more lavishly decorated room with a couple of beds, a dresser, some shelves, and a big locked chest. Armor and weapons being displayed indicated that this was likely to be the chief's room, and said chief was sleeping in one of the beds, not alone, but with a sparsely clad young woman beside him. T'mara looked at me and smirked, and while I carefully checked the shelves, she got to work on the locked chest. A few minutes later I heard the telltale click of an opening lock; T'mara got some stuff out, I was done as well, and we sneaked out of the room again, with the bandit chief and his female companion none the wiser. T'mara showed one of her thumbs up, indicating that she had found what we had been looking for, and we made our way back towards the mine exit. When we were out in the courtyard again, we saw a few bandits on the walls looking out, and the courtyard itself was clear. We moved to the gate and hid under it; for further distraction I shot a bolt of exploding fire towards the garrison, so that all eyes turned in that direction, and we could sneak out without pulling attention towards us.

Back at the place where Valdimar was waiting we rested, and T'mara proudly presented a set of Dwemer schematics as well as a couple of skillbooks and some valuable loot she had found in the chest. My housecarl was visibly impressed:

"That was some sneaking you two have done; you were practically invisible most of the time."

"Yes," I replied, "and we managed to get what we wanted without a single fight."

"Okay, so what's our next stop?" Valdimar asked.

I looked at T'mara and offered: "Hob's Fall Cave, right, my dear?"

She nodded: "Yes, we want to search for signs related to Isabelle who supposedly lived there for some time, or maybe she is even still there."

Rather than getting back to the main road, we decided to follow a small trail leading northeast from the fort. This required sneaking around the fort at some safety distance, to make sure that even Valdimar stayed undetected, but it got is into the direction we wanted. We followed the path for a few hours, until we saw some kind of lighthouse ahead. As we did not want to walk around in unknown territory in the dark, we decided to investigate this place first and see if we could find a good place to camp.

The place looked like somebody either lived there or had lived there recently; we found a small vegetable garden, a single stalled stable, and a shed with some tools and potions outside of the building. However, when we entered the lighthouse itself, we could see right away that something was wrong – the room was a mess, there were several blood splatters, and we found a corpse next to a dead chaurus. There was a brief journal next to the corpse explaining how a happy Redguard couple together with their kids live here for some time, started to investigate scratching noises from the cellar, and apparently got killed by one or more chaurus. I voiced my suspicions:

"T'mara, Valdimar, I think that they are all dead here. We can either investigate and get prepared to encounter lot of chaurus down there, or skip that, find a place to rest, and advance to our target, What do you think?"

Valdimar stated that he'd be find with either, and T'mara said:

"I am not in a mood for fighting a group of chaurus right now; let's skip that here and maybe come back another time, if you don't mind."

So this was decided; we found our way to the upper level, just below the brazier, and spread our bedrolls there for the night. Bran and Pammy stood guard around us, as usual.

When we left the lighthouse on the next morning after breakfast, I thought that I could hear some scratching noises behind the door to the basement, but this might have been just my imagination. We made our way east and then turned north towards the coast. The map was a little bit vague on where the entrance to 'Hob's Fall Cave' actually was supposed to be, and we searched around for some time, until we noticed that the cave entrance was further down in some kind of chasm. Rather than making a detour to get down, we climbed and jumped and soon had the entrance in front of us. A few blood stains actually lead to the cave, and we started to fear the worst for the person we wanted to look for. Right after entering, we found the corpse of a female Breton. A letter we found on the dead body confirmed our suspicions:

_My dearest Ranmir, _

_By the time you receive this, I will be gone. I know that it's wrong to mislead you, but I didn't want you to prevent me from going. _

_I know it's been hard on you, on both of us, struggling to survive. I hate to see the look in your eyes every time you think about how little the two of us have, and I know you're too proud to ever say anything. So I'm going to make it all better. _

_I've talked to my friend Vex, and she's given me some advice. I know how to get something that will allow us to live happily, without ever worrying about money ever again. _

_I love you so much, Ranmir. You mean the world to me, and I only want to see you happy. _

_Worry not. I'll be home soon. _

_Isabelle _

T'mara looked at the corpse and the letter and mused:

"It appears that this lady was in love with Ranmir all right. But, we've got another dead body. Does this never stop?"

"No," I shook my head, "I think it does not, not in Tamriel at least."

Eventually we followed the downward slope further into the ice cave, until the passage widened into some kind of hall. There were some empty cages on the ground, and a high ledge was visible at the other end, with no discernible way to get up from our position. Something appeared to be going on up there, but except for a few shouts, we could neither hear nor see anything specific. The only way forward seemed to be another passage branching off to the left on our level, and we followed that one.

Next we encountered a few skeletons, and most of them dissolved into their individual bones when hit by a single arrow or both. T'mara got confused about that:

"Why can an arrow or bolt eliminate a skeleton just by hitting a bone? And why does somebody bother to post skeletons as guardians if they can be eliminated that easily, and they do not even raise an alarm?"

"My dear," I replied, "this is just more content for the book 'Skyrim's oddities' I might write if I can find the time. In other words, I do not have a clue., but I do not really see a reason to complain about it, either."

Further down we noticed a necromancer sitting at a table; he had his back to us and had not seen us yet. We retreated a little and I offered:

"Valdimar, would you like to attack this necromancer and show us what you can do?"

"A pleasure, my Thane!"

My housecarl sported a broad grin, unsheathed his new sword, and cautiously moved forward. As he was not so good in sneaking, the necromancer heard him getting closer and got up. When the enemy turned and raised his hands to prepare a spell, though, Valdimar jumped to the side so that the ice spike sent towards him missed, and before the necromancer could target him again, my housecarl was upon him. The bad guy did not have the time to cast a defense spell, like Ironflesh, on himself, and while he defended himself with a dagger, he was no match for Valdimar's sword fighting skills. When the necromancer raised his left hand for another spell, Valdimar cut the hand off, and this distracted and hurt the necromancer more than enough for my housecarl to run his sword through the enemy's chest. Valdimar sure was a good fighter to have on our side.

The table had a few potions and poisons, and we found some more loot in a chest close by. Some barely remaining residues on the ground and on the walls indicated that there must have been a larger fight in the area some time ago. Once we had made sure that we had not missed anything, we continued to follow the tunnel, sometimes upwards, sometimes downwards, defeating a few more skeletons and necromancers, until we got to a wooden bridge spanning over a deep cavern. Our footsteps – well, Valdimar's mainly – alerted more skeletons and necromancers, but as we found that we were in a good defensive positions, we even made some extra noise. We were easily able to evade frost spikes sent our way, and my bolts and T'mara's arrows found their targets. When the last enemies had showed up, we waited another ten minutes or so for good measure before proceeding. Further ahead in the cave, we encountered a few isolated skeletons. One of the rooms we passed had three specially configured gems in it, working as 'spellcaster traps', which we could easily disable by approaching from the sides. Finally we got to a larger room opening in front of us; it had an altar with a corpse on it, and a couple of powerful looking necromancers murmuring something. They did not notice us right away, and T'mara got close enough to shout her 'YOL TOOR SHUL' with maximum effect. One of the necromancers was dead right away, and the other one succumbed to Valdimar's sword. We found a number of soul gems, various ingredients, and a chest with various items, including a nicely crafted flute with a tag indicating that it belonged to Pantea at the Bard's College.

Getting out of the cavern again was easy, as we only needed to jump down the edge and head out. We found the sun close to the zenith and decided to walk again in easterly direction. Winterhold was too far to reach, but Saarthal was half way. We made it there before dusk was on us and entered the excavation site. The Breton conjurer Arniel Gane was still inside together with a few assistants, and we found a nice place to spend the night, once we had exchanged some information and news.

The conjurer even told us a little about his current project:

"The Dwemer were uhh, masters of magic in a way we can't even begin to conceive of. Their greatest achievement, however, has also been their greatest, shall we say... Mystery."

"Haven't they been gone a long time?"

"Precisely! What could be worth studying about a long-lost civilization?"

He got a point, but: "And what is the specific mystery you are looking into?"

"Their disappearance, of course!" he almost shouted. "Instant, unexplainable. The stories have fascinated me... Ever since I was young, I wanted to know what really happened. After years and years of work, I'm closing in on a way to investigate what happened through experimentation. Only now... Well, it's simply a disaster."

"What went wrong?"

"Without boring you with the, ah, details, I am attempting to re-create the circumstances of the event, but that has shown to be much more difficult than I had expected. I will need to research further, and maybe at a later time I will need some help to retrieve some items."

For now, that was all he was willing to share, and as it was time to get to sleep anyway, we did not bother to get more information from him.

_[Author's Notes: As you may have guessed, we are slowly proceeding towards the final part of the main quest. I am starting to think about how to continue after that, and if I get some reviews asking me to do something specific, I might consider it. At this point I may either have my heroes go to Solstheim, or maybe to Cyrodiil – like the mod 'Beyond Skyrim - Bruma – or continue to help rebuilding Helgen; not sure yet. I'd prefer to keep Serana for a different story, though. I also have plans to complete the 'Companions' and 'College of Winterhold' quest lines, but not by the main characters.]_


	51. Chapter 51 - An outpost in the Sea

**Chapter 51: An outpost in the Sea of Ghosts**

_[4__th__ – __12__th__of Sun's Height__4E 202]_

The next morning found us – my wife T'mara, my housecarl Valdimar, and myself – walking across the glacier towards the city of Winterhold. Valdimar had never been in Winterhold before, or so he told us; he enjoyed the trip across snow and ice, and he admired the view of the ocean glittering in the distance. When we finally descended from the open white area down to the city, he was visibly impressed by nature and environment, but less so when passing through the city itself.

"And I thought that Morthal was small," he said, with quite some disappointment showing on his face, "but Morthal is a hive of activity compared to this one here, if you ask me!"

Yes, he had a point, but he had not been in the college yet. We passed the inn and the Jarl's longhouse and stepped through the stone gate which started the narrow path towards the college across the bridge. When we reached the first platform, I noticed that Faralda was at her usual position, and she greeted us happily:

"Dragonborn, Timotheus, welcome back! Another visitor today?"

"Faralda, good to see you. May I introduce: My new housecarl, Valdimar. He would like to also get a few lessons here. Valdimar, this is Faralda, Master of Destruction magic and guardian of the entrance to the College of Winterhold."

Faralda looked at my housecarl suspiciously:

"Hm, you are a Nord. Have you got at least a tiny bit of magic in you? Can you cast a frost spell into the target area here?"

"This I can do!" Valdimar nodded, stretched out his left hand, and cast his strongest frost spike into the target area the wizard had pointed out.

"Not bad for a Nord, not bad, indeed. Welcome to the College of Winterhold, Valdimar! I am sure that your companions will introduce you to Mirabelle, Tolfdir and the other students."

This we did indeed, and Tolfdir as well as Onmund, who happened to be close, were happy about seeing another Nord willing to get lessons in advanced magic. My housecarl was asked to join one of Tolfdir's lessons in the next morning. Later on, when we met Mirabelle, he got a set of apprentice robes and a room:

"Now I'll show you to your quarters. You're going to be sharing space with your fellow Apprentices, who you'll meet shortly."

"I have already met one of the other students" Valdimar replied.

"Spendid!" Mirabelle said. "This bed and desk are yours. Please try and be considerate of others in here."

As the day was not over yet, I left the others in the college and walked downtown again to find Ranmir in the local inn. When I passed through the door, he recognized me right away, but could hardly believe that I had actually found a trace of Isabelle. When I mentioned that I had indeed found a note from her, he eagerly said:

"Don't you go pulling my leg. Give it here. This... This is really from her, isn't it? Did she really run off and do this? For me? By the Eight. She's dead, isn't she?"

I silently nodded, and he looked very sad now: "It's all my fault. I... I have some thinking to do. Thank you for this."

Ranmir seemed to be very touched emotionally, and I understood that he needed some time alone. I left him at the inn and went back to the college.

For Tolfdir's morning lessons on the next day, we not only met our housecarl again, but there were Lydia and Inigo as well as Glacier and Marine. The latter two beamed when they saw us, and both T'mara and I got a tight hug from each of the girls. We promised to find a table together for lunch later on, but for now Tolfdir claimed our attention. As he usually did when a new student joined, he introduced Valdimar to the group, and he used him as a perfect example to demonstrate that men and mer of every age were capable to learn more about magic. When asked to show his capabilities, Valdimar blasted a strong frost spike against Tolfdir's ward, and he also demonstrated 'Stoneflesh' and a simple ward; Tolfdir was quite pleased to see that he wouldn't need to start from almost zero with him.

J'zargo, the cocky Khajiit, also showed up, and after quickly introducing himself he added:

"J'zargo can learn magic from these men and elves, but they cannot learn to be as dashing as he. J'zargo clearly comes out on top."

His special friend Marine had heard that and quickly added her own opinion:

"Come on, you fur ball, you call yourself dashing? Let's see how dashing you are when one of your own scrolls sets off under your ass!"

J'zargo looked offended: "Come on, that just happened once or twice. This one has improved much since then!"

Marine chuckled: "Yes, you have much improved in showing your arrogance, that's for sure."

The Khajiit obviously tried to tease his friend now: "As we were talking about something going off, this one seems to have a new spell in its hands, ready to go off in your direction – would the pretty Redguard want to find out what it feels like?"

Marine squealed and ran off, shouting back "Don't you dare!"

I could not stop myself laughing, and when I had calmed down I asked Glacier:

"Have those two been behaving like that all of the time?"

Glacier chuckled and nodded: "Yes, they have. They have a lot of fun with each other, and this includes teasing and annoying each other a lot. But, I have got to admit, Marine has actually learned a lot from the Khajiit."

We enjoyed a long lunch session all together with lots of talks, and when we mentioned our 'visit' to Hob's Fall Cave, Lydia got curious:

"Did you say 'Hob's Fall Cave'? That's odd. Inigo, Onmund and I were there just a couple of months ago when we retrieved Enthir's Staff, and we did not encounter as many Necromancers as you did."

"How deep did you go in, Lydia?" I asked back.

"Well," she replied, "we followed the entrance tunnel, came into a room with a ledge high up we could not get to, and turned into a passage on the left. After a few turns there was a necromancer sitting at a table, and once we had killed him, we found the staff we were looking for in one of the chests next to the table. As we did not have a reason to go further, we ignored the passage leading further down into the ice and turned back again."

"Okay, I see," I nodded, "we also saw the table, but we went much further in, taking the long tour until we eventually came to the room above the ledge. Most of the necromancers and skeletons probably did not see you, I guess, as they were much further down."

"Well, yes," Lydia agreed, "that's probably it."

After lunch I had a chat with the Arch-Mage, and I also mentioned Falion in Morthal to him. He looked a little bit sad when he heard about him and explained:

"Ah, yes, Falion. He was Conjuration Master here at the College a long time ago, but eventually he disagreed with the general guidelines of the College and also with my person, so that he left. It's a pity, as he was a good teacher. There are some rumors that he dabbles in vampirism and tries to find a cure for it. Not sure if this is true, though."

Once we had talked more about various topics, Savos Aren asked me curiously:

"Say, where did you pick up those two Redguard girls who have joined Tolfdir's class?"

"In Riften, I think" I replied. "What do you ask – I something wrong?"

"No, not at all, rather the contrary" the Arch-Mage said. "Specifically Glacier seems to be quite gifted in magic, and both of them sometimes… seem to know a little more than they could, if you know what I mean."

"Oh yes, I understand you" I nodded. I did not want to reveal what we had learned about the Dovahtwin's background, coming from a different universe where Skyrimw as some kind of game or so, and continued:

"As far as I know, they both have a gift where they can see the future sometimes, like a seer."

"Ah yes, I thought the same. This is quite unique, and I am very happy to have them here, as it is."

Eventually I was ready to leave the Arch-mage's quarters again, and when I shook the Arch-Mage's hand to take my leave, Mirabelle Ervine came in and asked:

"Arch-Mage, the Synod have contacted us again, asking if we've any word on their researchers."

"What did you tell them last time?"

"That they had arrived, asked for information which was provided to them, and went on their way with no suggestion of further interaction."

"That hasn't changed, has it? Then just tell them again."

"Should we consider investigating the matter?"

"No, I don't think so. Respond to their request, and we'll leave it at that."

"Yes, Arch-Mage. Thank you."

I had overheard the conversation and could not resist to ask:

"What business does the Synod have around here, if I may ask?"

"They did not tell us" Savos Aren replied. "They mentioned something about researching something in some place in Tamriel, but did not bother to let us know any details. Thus, I feel there's no sense in investigating further."

He snorted and continued: "If they want any advice and assistance form us here at the college, they'd better start to tell us what they are actually doing and which places they intend to spend their research on. So far, they've done neither."

I understood and nodded, and finally I took my leave. Later on T'mara and I went to see Urag in the library. The Orc librarian barely acknowledged us, but he looked up when T'mara stepped up to him and boldly requested information:

"What can you tell me about Elder Scrolls?"

"An Elder Scroll is an instrument of immense knowledge and power. To read an Elder Scroll, a person must have the most rigorously trained mind, or else risk madness. Even so, the Divines usually grant the reader's sight as a price."

"All right. So do you have one that I could use?"

"Ha! You think that even if I did have one here, I would let you see it?" Urag shook his head, finding it hard to believe what my wife asked. "It would be kept under the highest security. The greatest thief in the world wouldn't be able to lay a finger on it."

"Sorry, I really should have explained first. I need to find one and was told you could help. It is part of my Dragonborn task."

Urag looked softer now and gave in:

"I don't know who told you that I'd know where to find an Elder Scroll, but I'll do what I can for you. There really is no Elder Scroll in this library, but what we do have are plenty of books. I'll bring everything we have on them, but it's not much. So don't get your hopes up. It's mostly lies, leavened with rumor and conjecture."

Urag brought us a number of books, and two of them specifically seemed to be of interest, "_Ruminations on the Elder Scrolls"_ and "_Effects of the Elder Scrolls". _We spent most of the afternoon browsing those two books, but most of the content in the first book was very difficult to read and understand. Eventually we consulted Urag for help again:

"This book here is really hard to understand; can you by any chance help us with interpreting it?"

"Aye, that's the work of Septimus Signus. He's the world's master of the nature of Elder Scrolls, but... well. He's been gone for a long while. Too long."

"So he's dead?"

"Oh no; I hope not. But even I haven't seen him in years, and we were close. He became obsessed with the Dwemer. Took off north saying he had found some old artifact. Haven't seen him since. Somewhere in the ice fields, if you want to try and find him. Let me mark the location of his outpost on your map; maybe he is still there, who knows."

Okay, we had a new target now. Back at our table, we both looked at the map, and T'mara shuddered:

"This appears to be on an island surrounded by ice and water! Does Urag expect us to fly there?"

"No, surely not," I replied, "but I would not mind a little bit of swimming between then ice floats if necessary."

"Yes, but you are a Nord!" my wife exclaimed and shivered. "Honestly, my dear, I wonder if you can be a good husband and do this without me?" she purred now.

I laughed and nodded: "Can be done, and I should be back within a couple of days. Let me ask Valdimar and Lydia to join me; they are both Nords and won't mind, I guess."

Before we went to bed, we discussed the upcoming trip with our friends, and Lydia and Valdimar were both happy to embark on this adventure with me. We agreed to be ready to leave early on the next day.

The expedition we had in mind was a Nord's idea of a field day or two. Summer up north, still with lots of ice and snow around, and trying to find a hidden outpost somewhere out on the ice. While I could somehow understand that my wife refused to go with us, I was actually looking forward to our trip.

According to the map we had, our best guess to get close to our target location was to cross the island which had 'Skytemple Ruins' on it, and we eagerly walked in that direction in the morning. All three of us had a big backpack and a bedroll, as we expected to spend a night or two out. Pammy was happily jumping around us, while Bran had stayed behind with T'mara. On the coast of the island we were getting to, a snow bear was getting close to us and looked like it was about to attack. Pammy took this personal and jumped on the big animal. The snow bear was apparently not used to being challenged; clearly it had believed itself to be at the very top of the food chain – dragons excepted, of course. After a quick fight it hurriedly left the area, probably looking for easier prey.

Lydia was in a good mood and complained: "Hey, Pammy did not leave anything for me to fight! That's not fair!"

Almost as a response to that, a dragon appeared behind the ruins on the island and roared. I laughed and told Lydia: "What did you just say about nothing left to fight?"

Lydia laughed as well, while I got my crossbow ready. Even without the Dragonborn, the three of us – well, four with Pammy – should be able to handle a dragon. Lydia had learned better destruction magic at the college and Valdimar knew that already. The dragon blew fire our way, and consequently we attacked with frost spikes and bolts. The beast refused to get very close, so that it took us quite some time to whittle it down, but eventually it crashed into the ground close to the coast. I fired further bolts, Pammy attacked from the left, and Lydia and Valdimar alternated attacking from the right. Both Nords shouted with their attacks, not like Dragon Shouts, but more insults like:

"You'll die this day, dragon!"

"Slay it! Slay the dragon!"

"It's a fine day to die, dragon!"

I chuckled when I heard that; did they really expect the dragon to be impressed or affected by that?

Once we had killed the beast, the two Nord warriors actually looked quite happy; maybe they had needed the workout.

Rather the climbing the hill on the island, we followed the coast to the northwestern area, and according to the map marker, the outpost we were looking for should not be far away from there. A few ice floats allowed easy passage, and we managed to get to the entrance without even getting our feet wet. Inside, an eerie silence welcomed us as we entered an ice cave. Following the initial passage, we soon had to travel down around a spiral path, and a male hooded scholar or mage waited for us downstairs.

The person was pacing around inside, and he seemed to be fully occupied looking at a cube with an odd lock. We heard the person, whom we assumed to be Septimus, talking to himself, although we did not get all of that:

"Dig, Dwemer, in the beyond. I'll know your lost unknown and rise to your depths. How long will it be sung? My feet were set upon the rock but it turned to mud and drew me down."

After listening and trying to understand for some time, I finally asked:

"Excuse me, but are you Septimus Signus? If you are, would you mind telling us about what you are doing out here?"

The person replied: "The ice entombs the heart. To harness it is to know. The fundaments. The Dwemer lockbox hides it from me. The Elder Scroll gives insight deeper than the deep ones, though. To bring about the opening."

"Did you actually just say something about an Elder Scroll?"

"I've seen enough to know their fabric." He continued to speak in riddles, at least partially: "Elder Scrolls. Indeed. The Empire. They absconded with them. Or so they think. The ones they saw. The ones they thought they saw. I know of one. Forgotten. Sequestered. But I cannot go to it, not poor Septimus, for I... I have arisen beyond its grasp."

"Excuse me, but are you really well? Is there something we can help you with?" Lydia cut in.

"Oh, I am well. I will be well. Well to be within the will inside the walls."

"Can you tell us more about where to find the Elder Scroll?"

"Here, as in this plane. Mundus. Tamriel. Nearby, relatively speaking. On the cosmological scale, it's all nearby."

Well, that was really helpful, but we patiently asked for more details.

"One block lifts the other. Septimus will give what you want, but you must bring him something in return."

After some pause he continued:

"You see this masterwork of the Dwemer. Deep inside their greatest knowings. Septimus is clever among men, but he is but an idiot child compared to the dullest of the Dwemer. Lucky then they left behind their own way of reading the Elder Scrolls. In the depths of Blackreach one yet lies. Have you heard of Blackreach?"

I admitted that we had heard, but did not know where to find it and how to get in.

"Under deep. Below the dark. The hidden keep. Tower Mzark. Alftand. The point of puncture, of first entry, of the tapping. Delve to its limits, and Blackreach lies just beyond. But not all can enter there. Only Septimus knows the hidden key to loose the lock to jump beneath the deathly rock."

When prompted further, he kind of explained, in his usual gibberish way:

"Two things I have for you. One edged, one round. The round one, for tuning. Dwemer music is soft and subtle, and needed to open their cleverest gates. The edged lexicon, for inscribing. To us, a hunk of metal. To the Dwemer, a full library of knowings. But... empty. Find Mzark and its sky-dome. The machinations there will read the Scroll and lay the lore upon the cube. Trust Septimus. He knows you can know."

He now handed me two items, indeed a round one and an edged one. For the round one he added:

"The deepest doors of Dwemer listen for singing. It plays the attitude of notes proper for opening. Can you not hear it? Too low for hearings?"

About the edged one he said:

"To glimpse the world inside an Elder Scroll can damage the eyes. Or the mind, as it has to Septimus. The Dwemer found a loophole, as they always do. To focus the knowledge away and inside without harm. Place the lexicon into their contraption and focus the knowings into it. When it brims with glow, bring it back and Septimus can read once more."

Our patience with hits rambling was almost exhausted now, and we agreed that we had heard and received enough. After thanking Septimus and leaving some supplies for him, we were quite happy to leave the place again.

Noon was way past us, and we found that the heat of the day had melted some of the ice floats we had used to get here, or maybe the wind had just driven them somewhere else. A couple of hundred meters of open water at least separated us from the island we had come from. Valdimar regarded that as a welcome challenge:

"My Thane, Lydia, are you up for some swimming?"

Lydia and I both nodded. We removed our outer clothes and got into the cold water without much hesitation. Even for a Nord, this was not quite fully comfortable, as water sucked heat out of bodies much quicker than air, and even now, in summer, the water temperature was close to freezing up here in the North. Thus, rather than ambling around, we started swimming, and the effort and muscle movement generated some heat inside us. Nevertheless, when we arrived at the shore, we were reasonably exhausted and happy to get onto land again. We helped each other to dry ourselves off with weak fireblast spells. Pammy caught some fish for us which we prepared for dinner over an improvised campfire, and right when the sun got down, we found ourselves crawling into the bedrolls. We were happy to know that we could sleep safely, as my faithful familiar was standing guard during the night.

Back at the college on the next afternoon, we found a separate room for ourselves to discuss what we had learned. Besides T'mara and myself, we had invited Lydia and Inigo, Valdimar, and the two young girls, Marine and Glacier. The latter almost dropped her jaw in awe when she saw the two items we had received from Septimus – the edged and the round one – whereas the former just shouted:

"Yes! Blackreach, we are coming!"

I smiled and asked: "Looking at you, I guess that we don't have to waste much time in interpreting what we learned, right?"

Marine nodded eagerly: "Right, yes. You have all of the required hints now. 'Alftand' is where you can get in, and the 'Tower of Mzark' is what you need to find. Man, this is so exciting!"

Glacier now also commented: "My twin cousin knows much more about that, but Blackreach is really awesome. It is also dangerous, though, both the place itself and the way there. I strongly advise not to go alone, and I kindly ask you to consider taking the two of us with you, please."

T'mara looked at me and replied: "Well, from my point of you the two girls have earned it to come with us, my dear. Right?"

"I am with you there, of course, my love" I confirmed.

Marine smirked: "You two seem to be still as much in love with each other as when you married, right?"

"Yes we are!" I nodded, and to confirm it, I pulled my wife on my lap, wrapped my arms around her, and pulled her head in for a long hot kiss.

"Get a room, you two!" Marine laughed.

"Getting back to the discussion topic," I said, "our party should have Lydia and Inigo, Marine and Glacier, T'mara and myself. Anybody else we should take, or anything special we should take with us?"

"Well, as you mention it," Marine tentatively suggested, "J'zargo has been made some astounding progress with this spell casting, and Brelyna has also made quite some achievements. Maybe they could also be with us?"

"I am not quite so sure about taking students for such an extended expedition" I carefully considered.

"I understand," my wife commented, "but they have both already gained quite a lot of experience, and it can't hurt to have another two with us, I guess. Besides, Marine and Glacier are students, too, you know."

J'zargo and Brelyna were all in when we asked. It looked like this was going to be a major expedition, and we spent a few more days getting properly prepared. As we expected to be inside most of the time and it was summer anyway, we would not take tents, but only bedrolls, one per person, but joined ones for T'mara and me and Lydia and Inigo. We had big backpacks each, as the Dovahtwin girls has suggested to bring lots of supplies. We were likely to find water to drink, so they said, but not a lot to eat, so we packed rations for more than a week. Fortunately all of us had magical packs, which allowed to pack more than would usually fit inside, and also reduced weight to carry.

Before we were ready to leave, though, we needed to have some kind of plan. Thus, all of us who had agreed to be part of the team gathered in the College's entry hall to the Arcaneum, where a huge map was attached to the wall. On the map both our current location and our first target, Alftand, were clearly visible, and when looking at the map I suddenly recalled:

"Wait a second, Alftand, wasn't that the place we passed when we headed towards Nightgate Inn through that mountain pass, I think it was called 'Wayward Pass'? There were a few abandoned huts, a campsite, and some walkway which looked like it might lead into a cave or so. Also, I think that the place had one or even two of those pavilions with locked gates, supposedly for access to Blackreach."

Marine nodded: "Yep, that's the place."

"So we can get there in about half a day or a little more than that, right?"

T'mara also now recalled the place and confirmed: "Yes, that should be about right, unless somebody here isn't fit for our expedition."

This confirmed our decision not to take tents and much cold weather gear, specifically as Marine told us that the interior would be a little cold, but not too much. Glacier of course had to take her enchanted fur armor. I also asked about dangers we were likely to encounter, and Marine informed us:

"Well, for the first part it is mostly Dwemer mechanics and Falmer, and for later on, I am not going to tell."

"Good enough for now, and I think that we can handle that. Just to be safe, let's make sure that we all have a supply of healing potions and some for magicka regeneration."

We discussed a few more details and had supper together during our discussion, and when the sun went down, we all retired early to be well rested in the morning for our big trip.

_[Author's Notes: Yes, Blackreach is coming! My characters are clearly moving towards the final part of the main quest. The Dovahtwins, Marine and Glacier, are now going to be with us again for a few chapters.]_


	52. Chapter 52 - Traversing Alftand

**Chapter 52: Traversing Alftand**

_[13__th__ – __15__th __of Sun's Height__4E 202]_

When waking up on the next day, I felt excited right away: Today we were going to embark on our next big adventure, Blackreach!

We met for a filling breakfast, said our good byes from the senior mages, grabbed our backpacks and supplies, and merrily marched out of the college. The typical snowstorm awaited us, but that was normal around here, even in summer. Glacier shuddered and pulled her warm fur cloak closer around her body as soon as we had left the college grounds, but the Nords among us did not even bother with cloaks. Lydia even made a show of exposing most of her arms and legs to the elements, like Aela from the Companions also used to do frequently. Anyway, the brisk walking helped to get the blood circulation going. When we were about to leave the city, turning right between Birna՚s store and the Jarl՚s longhouse, we started to step up towards the ice and snow fields. Marine formed some snowballs and started throwing them, hitting her sister and Lydia. While Glacier was not really in a mood for that, Lydia picked up the challenge, and soon we had a nice friendly snowball fight going. I saw Inigo shuddering when one of the snowballs hit him close to the ears, and he commented something like:

"My ears do not like snow as much as I do."

This was one of Inigo՚s typical funny comments, and I chuckled when I heard it. I also formed a few snowballs and managed to hit my wife; looking at her face, though, I was not quite sure if she enjoyed fun like that. Getting my mouth close to her ear, I whispered:

"When we go to bed tonight, do you think that you'd enjoy feeling a cold snowball on your neck and back?"

She squealed and quickly shook her head: "Absolutely not! How would you like to sleep alone?"

Okay, I got the point.

Our route for today took us in southwesterly direction, mostly on ice and snow. We encountered a few foxes, ice wolves and ice wraiths, and we alternated fighting those we had to. Bran jumped around us, and Marine spent some time playing tag with him. Of course, I was not really sure if Bran got the idea, but the two had a lot of fun with each other. Maybe we should get another young husky for Marine later on.

Before noon we rested for about half an hour in a small depression which provide some cover against the howling winds, and we reached the Alftand area two hours later. Close to the edge of a cliff there was a small abandoned campsite, and a chest had a small book with an expedition manifest:

_We've managed to secure the site and hold off any others who may try to steal our discoveries so far, especially those from the College of Winterhold, who seem to think the glory of exploring every ruin should be theirs alone._

_..._

_We've set up shelter and scouted the area. The small ruins on the lower plateau of the glacier don't seem connected to the main structure and we haven't managed to find a way into the tower parapet we've found here. Yag mentioned spotting a fissure in the glacial wall that may lead into the ruins so we are going to try find a way to get down there with the gear. Looks like a storm is coming._

T'mara asked around: "What discoveries are they talking about, and why do they think that the college might want to get the glory?"

"I do not know" I replied. "I guess that we have to find out on our own."

J'zargo added: "This one believes that the walkway leading down might be the way to proceed."

We followed this suggestion, and the catwalks, which may have been erected by the previous expedition, lead into some kind of ice tunnel. The sun shining brightly outside was able to provide some eerie illumination in here through the ice, at least for the first part. This background lighting showed an abandoned campsite, and another booklet was placed on a barrel:

_We tried to get through glacier at the top, but we couldn't find any way into that tower parapet. Yag spotted a gap in the glacial wall, and construction of a catwalk was finished just in time for a storm to hit. At first we thought to wait it out, but it has only gotten worse. A shift in the glacier took out several of the new laborers._

_I ordered everyone to quickly move as much of the supplies as we could into the fissure and we managed to get most of it._

_..._

Maybe we were just lucky, but we could not feel or otherwise notice a shift in the ice. Another campsite a little bit further down had more bedrolls, but no human beings were there. We were not tired yet and thus agreed to proceed. After a few more turns we could hear somebody talking, and whoever it was, they seemed to have an argument and possibly a fight, but there was no direct access to that area, at least none we could find when looking around. Rather, we had to proceed in another direction, and the ice walls were now replaced by Dwemer walls crafted from stone. Soon we encountered the remains of a few Dwemer automatons and spiders; apparently the other expedition had been here already.

"Hey," Valdimar said, "now it looks like we are in a Dwemer site again. I guess that we should be expecting traps and guardians at any time now!"

I nodded, and a few corners later we could hear the voice again; now, it was only from one person rather than from two like before. Turning around another corner we saw a Khajiit with an axe in hand, looking around warily. Inigo, J'zargo, and T'mara went ahead to try to talk to him, and at first the stranger seemed to listen:

"What? Who is this, Brother? Another of the smooth skins looking for food? But this one wasn't trapped with us…"

However, after a few more words had been exchanged, he suddenly turned hostile and yelled:

"No... No! You must be the one who took my skooma!"

Inigo tried to calm him down, but the other Khajiit was too aggressive, and they finally had to kill him. Obviously he was a skooma addict, and we found his brother's journal to confirm that:

_This one is at his wit's end. I signed J'darr and myself up for this expedition to try to get him clean of the skooma. I brought a small supply to __try bring __him down slowly, but the storm has had us trapped in the glacier for weeks._

_The others have not yet caught on that one with fur should not shake so much from the cold, but I've run out of the little skooma I brought and J'darr is getting pretty bad. He's started hallucinating creatures coming out of the ice and the ruins__, the __others are starting to think he may be behind Valie's disappearance, but I know he would never do something like that._

T'mara looked that: "It appears that the other expedition were not careful about selecting their members and they also had some bad luck. I wonder if we will manage to find some of them still alive down here?"

A few turns later we found another note from a person calling herself Umana, claiming that they were about to run out of rations, and that more members were missing. We pressed forward, evaded some pistons shooting out horizontally and vertically, and finally found ourselves stopped by a large door. Glacier recognized it and suggested:

"This door lead into the next major section down here, called the 'Alftand Animonculory'. There will be a lot of enemies and different levels; why don't we rest here for the night and approach the next section tomorrow?"

"Animonculory? What kind of a word is this?" my wife asked.

Nobody could answer her question. Looking around I noticed that most of us were in favor of resting here, and thus we dropped our packs and bedrolls in a side chamber. We had supper together, I conjured Pammy, and she and Bran would stand guard for our night rest.

Well rested in the next morning we eagerly proceeded after breakfast, curious to see more of this place. Once we had passed the door, we encountered an increasing number of Dwarven spiders and spheres, and some of them were still active. In a niche we found another corpse, a wood elf this time. He had a journal on him reporting on eyeless creatures attacking him and his companions, and he obviously died from a poisoned Falmer arrow in his shoulder; the arrow was still there. After some more turns, seeing occasional Chaurus eggs, tables, traps and other telltale signs, we encountered something like a huge shaft, leading downwards via multiple levels. However, there was no direct access downwards visible anywhere.

Valdimar asked: "How do we go on from here? I suspect that our target is further down, but there is no ramp visible from here."

Inigo looked around and offered: "Look, the distance to the next ramp down is just about three meters. We can easily jump down, but we can not easily get back again if we have to."

After carefully looking around we agreed that this was what we had to do. Before we proceeded, though, I suggested:

"Before we jump down, I'd like to flush out potential enemies. Let's make a lot of noise, wait for potential enemies to show up, and attack with arrows and bolts. Everyone who is down there will not be able to get to us while we're still up here."

I saw several nods, and all of us who had a bow – T'mara, Inigo, and Glacier – plus me with my crossbow were placed around the platform to wait. T'mara shouted down several times, and indeed soon some Falmer came looking, followed by a few Dwarven spiders, more Falmer, and even a Chaurus. We quickly disposed of them with our superior firepower and waited for maybe ten more minutes before finally jumping down to the next level; I jumped first and helped those who had issues jumping from a height a more than three meters, specifically Marine and Glacier. Right next to our landing area there was another corpse, a female Orc this time. Her body had several Falmer arrows in it, and she obviously died while trying to fight them off.

Lydia said: "Whatever the people in the earlier expedition did, they did not manage well to work together as a team."

I smiled and responded: "Yes, I believe that you are right. I am happy that this does not apply to us here!"

Carefully we proceeded onward, and we examined each level carefully, room for room and walkway for walkway. Eventually we got to a room with a few more Falmer, and J'zargo ran ahead and used his latest fire scroll. The fireblast hit the Falmer all right, but a few flames backfired and singed Marine, who was right behind the Khajiit. She was not really seriously hurt, but while the rest of us fought off the wounded enemies, she complained a lot:

"You stupid excuse for a Khajiit did it again! When will you ever learn to prepare your scrolls properly? I will skin you alive and stretch your poor hide on a tanning rack!"

J'zargo looked a little bit sorry, but replied in his usual self conscious way: "This one apologizes. Maybe the pretty Redguard should keep her distance when superior warriors engage in fighting to protect her."

"Superior warrior my ass..."

At this time Marine caught a warning glance from me; she knew exactly that I did not agree with her choice of words. When the two had calmed down, we looked around and found another corpse, a female Altmer this time. The body was shackled to a table; apparently she had been caught by the Falmer. In an adjacent room we found a platform and a lever. As we did not really know what that was good for, but wanted to learn more, we asked for volunteers, and Lydia and Inigo stepped on the platform and pushed the lever. Some rumbling noise was heard from deep down, and the platform started to rise.

We looked at the vanishing platform, trying to understand what was happening, when Marine started to laugh:

"Look at you, have you never seen a lift?"

"What is a lift?" I replied.

Glacier got involved: "A lift or elevator is a concept we know from our world. Driven by some power source, a platform can be raised or lowered, helping you to move up or down without using stairs. We have oftentimes mused that the Dwemer technology has some similarities to our world, and we do believe that the platforms found in some of their ruins show some remarkable examples of powered devices. The platforms are probably moved by either hydraulics or steam, but it is quite astonishing to see how much of that is still fully functional."

I felt tempted to ask what 'hydraulics' was, but wasn't sure if I really wanted to know.

"Yeah, and don't worry," Marine added, "our two friends will be able to get back the same way; we just don't know how long the ride is going to be."

We had to wait for quite some time, probably close to an hour, and made sure that we had not missed anything important on that level. Eventually more hissing and grumbling was heard, and the platform with our two friends came down again. Inigo grinned and reported:

"Wow, this is really something. We were transported up to Alftand again, and after a long move we appeared in one of those pavilions. The gates can be opened from the inside, but we kept it locked for now once we had looked around. The same lever on the platform started the move down again."

"Yes," Lydia added, "and as we saw other pavilions like that before at other places, we can safely assume that more magical transports like this one exist in Skyrim."

We had rested enough by now and found a large door leading further down; Glacier pointed out that we were now entering 'Alftand Cathedral'. T'mara sneaked ahead, and after one corner she could barely avoid a trap once she had accidentally stepped on a very carefully hidden pressure plate. Spears came down from the ceiling, and only her nimbleness prevented her from being seriously injured. Past the next door we entered a larger area with lost of Falmer and some chaurus beasts; they had already heard us, and we had to kill all of them. J'zargo and Valdimar were hit by a chaurus reaper's poisonous spits and needed some rest to recover, while the rest of us searched the camp and tents.

"What do Falmer do with chaurus?" Lydia was curious.

I had read something in a book and offered: "I think that the chitin produced by them can be used to created and improve Falmer armor."

"How good is Falmer armor?" my wife asked.

Valdimar took a few pieces we had found, examined them carefully and replied:

"Guess we'd have to do some more tests, but I believe that Falmer armor is about as sturdy as Steel armor and Dwarven armor."

"But it's so heavy!" my wife stated; after all, she much preferred light armor.

Lydia and Valdimar both laughed a little, and Lydia added, with a clear indication of sarcasm: "That's why it is called 'Heavy Armor', my Thane!"

"Yes, of course," T'mara replied, "but let's talk again when your heavy armor prevents you from sneaking properly."

Before this grew into a general discussion about heavy versus light armor, we decided to proceed. Passing another gate found us in a larger hall again, and once we had killed a couple of Falmer and got up a few stairs, we faced two metal monster, giants more than double our size. One of them was flat on the ground and obviously broken, whereas the other one was alive and functional. Not only that, but it had seen or heard our approach and moved in our direction, and it started to blow steam our way.

Marine was hit by a cloud of steam, jumped back and yelped: "Ouch – this is hot!"

We had not seen such a monster before and needed to find out first how to counter the attack. Blowing different spells, we soon found out that it was immune to frost, but could be hurt by fire and shock. T'mara smiled when she learned that and shouted '_YOL TOOR SHUL_!', hitting the giant directly in the chest. It was not by far enough to kill it off, but it gave us a break. I stayed back, using my crossbow, and the magic users blasted fire and shock. Lydia even dared to get very close to the mechanical contraption and smiled when she noticed that the giant had trouble lowering its weapons low enough to hit her. It had a huge hammer attached to one arm and a battleaxe on the other, but failed to get those low enough to hit Lydia, who was moving around the monster's legs. Of course she needed to be careful not to be stomped on, but the giant did not move very fast, so that even a warrior in heavy armor could get the job done if they paid attention. Lydia hacked at the giant's legs, while the rest of us continued to blast and shoot. Our joined effort finally paid off, and the giant dropped to the ground next to its colleague.

"Wow, what was that?" I asked.

Glacier answered that: "That, for the record, was a Dwemer Centurion, one of the strongest and most powerful mechanical warriors ever built."

"How can something like this move and attack?" Lydia asked. "I mean, what is driving it? Can't be steam, right?"

"No", Glacier replied and stepped closer to the mechanical device, retrieving a Centurion Dynamo Core and holding it up. "This device here seems to be the power source. How this works exactly, though, I do not have a clue."

Brelyna searched the Centurion for more loot, and eventually we moved on, climbing another set of stairs and passing through a metal gate. A few minutes later we heard voices, and two people appeared to have some kind of argument:

"Sulla look, the passage is open, wait... there's someone down there!"

"No! Blackreach was to be my discovery!"

"Sulla, let's just get out of here. Hasn't there been enough death?"

"Oh, of course. You're just waiting for me to turn my back so you can have all the glory for yourself!"

Once we got close to the two, we recognized a female Redguard and a male Imperial. We barely found time for a polite greeting, when they looked at each other and apparently decided to view us as common enemies. Before we had a chance to offer some calming words, we were attacked and had to kill them to defend ourselves.

"What's wrong with those?" T'mara asked. "Why don't people talk any longer and attack without reason?"

"Maybe those two were already attacked before," I offered, "and maybe they were just getting paranoid."

"But what were they actually fighting about?" Valdimar asked while looking around.

"Well, there is this strange mechanism in the center of the room" I offered.

"And I just found out that the key I took from the Centurion fits this gate here," Brelyna added, "and there is another lift out there."

"Good to know about the lift," T'mara nodded, "but the lift will not get us into Blackreach, or will it?"

"No, this is what the Dwemer mechanism here in the center of the room is for" Glacier confirmed.

"And how does it operate?" Inigo asked.

"Do you recall what Septimus said about the two artifacts he gave you?" Glacier asked back, addressed to me.

"Kind of", I admitted, "but his rambling was hard to understand. I think that there was something about '_needed to open their cleverest gates.'"_

I looked at the mechanism again, and I noticed an indentation. Getting the Attunement Sphere from my pack, I tentatively placed it there, and immediately some rumbling started. I stepped back and watched a some parts of the mechanism rotated, until a stairway was revealed, leading down into the ground.

Once the movement had stopped, we all walked down the stairs, and after a couple of turns and passing a gate, we stared into a huge dark open cave. Glacier told us proudly:

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Blackreach!"

We stood there for quite a few minutes, admiring what we had found. This was a colossal underground cave with a huge ceiling partially covered with some kind of lighting, similar to glowing mushrooms, but with a different color. Together with other lights all around, there was an eternal twilight down here, and lots of different structures revealed themselves, including buildings, rocks, and large things which almost looked like giant glowing jellyfish; close by we also heard water flowing. We could not get a good feeling on the real size of the location as some kind of light mist penetrated the air, hiding whatever was further in the background, but it was certainly huge and much larger than any other cavern I had found underground so far.

Right ahead of us, just a few hundred meters, there was a medium sized stone building of Dwemer architecture, which almost looked kind of normal in this strange environment. We quickly agreed to look around there first. After entering the building, we noticed a skeleton on the single bed, with a journal next to it.

T'mara picked it up and read it loud for us. It was dated 4E 58, almost 150 years go, and the person called himself Siderion. When T'mara read a section abut him coming from the 'West Weald Inn' and researching Nirnroot, something triggered in my memory. Some of the interesting sections read like this:

…

_Before delving headfirst into Blackreach, I knew I needed to set up a new laboratory, but wished to do so in seclusion. After making inquiries at the College of Winterhold, of which I was an honorary member, I was directed to speak to Avrusa Sarethi, a student of botanical alchemy who had a small farm near the city of Riften. By bartering my knowledge of nirnroot cultivation, I was able to secure Sarethi Farm as a launching point for my field research. I kept the knowledge of the crimson nirnroot a secret from Avrusa, but imparted everything else I knew to her in exchange for her hospitality._

…

_My goal was to gather enough crimson nirnroot to produce my greatest alchemical creation to date – I was certain it would take at least thirty of them to provide the necessary catalyst._

…

When my wife was done reading, I mused:

"Some of you may know that the 'Hero of Kvatch', who saved Cyrodiil and even most of Tamriel from the Oblivion Crisis 200 years ago, was one my ancestors. My family owns most of his journals, and I read them during my youth in Cyrodiil. He encountered nirnroot plants during his travels and met an odd alchemist called 'Sinderion' in Skingrad, in the 'West Weald Inn'. Sinderion asked him to get more specimen, and the alchemist was able to brew some special potions from them. Maybe it is the same man. The guy was supposed to be an Altmer, so that the age could match."

"Well," Inigo suggested, "if we manage to find thirty of the crimson nirnroots, we could as well follow up and look for Avrusa Sarethi later on, right?"

We searched the house for more clues, picked the single crimson nirnroot available here, and also took another copy of an attunement sphere. Meanwhile, although we could no longer verify that directly, night was close and some of us were getting tired. The interior of Sinderion's house was way too small for all of us to sleep in here, so that we retreated to the entrance from Alftand and dropped our bedrolls in a side room with a single entrance. After supper we retired, with Bran and Pammy watching over us.

When I awoke in the next morning – or rather what I though might be the next morning – I noticed Inigo and Lydia already preparing breakfast. When we were all awake, we discussed further options while eating. As we had seen on the day before, the place seemed to be huge, and although we knew that we'd have to search for something called 'Tower of Mzark', this could be almost anywhere. We could not expect to find a sign saying 'Elder Scroll – this way'.

"Knowing how things usually are," I pointed out, "this tower is probably closer to the other end of this huge cavern. It should not be too hard to locate and search all towers we see, though."

"True," T'mara nodded, "but if we do this together in one group, we'll needs days or even weeks. We do not know what kind of dangers we might encounter, but what about splitting up rather than all staying together?"

"Actually this sounds like a plan" I agreed. "We could form three teams of three each. One team could go left, one center, and one right, and ideally we meet again at the other end of the cavern, a day or two later."

"Yes, but who goes with whom?" Lydia asked.

"Okay, let's see. You, Lydia, will want to stay with Inigo, and I will want to stay with my wife. Marine has worked well with J'zargo, and Valdimar as an experienced warrior should go with them. Brelyna, Glacier, why don't you pick with whom you want to do."

When I said 'Marine has worked well with J'zargo', the dark skinned girl chuckled, but there was no protest from her. Glacier wanted to go with T'mara and me, and Brelyna was happy to join Lydia and Inigo. We agreed on some standard rules of behavior, like trying to avoid attacking anything if possible. One question from Inigo was important, though:

"When we see a tower, how do we know if it is the right one or not? Is it likely to have a name plate or sign?"

"Not likely, I guess," I sighed, "but this is a very valid question. Glacier, Marine, do you happen to have any input here?"

"Yes we do" Glacier replied. "When we played, we always has some markers in the game, but out here this is missing. I think that the tower is in the southwestern area of the cavern, on a spire between two waterfalls. Most likely we will all meet in this area after a day or so anyway."

"Good enough for now, I think" I smiled at her and nodded. "Are there any other questions?"

There weren't any, and soon were going on our predefined ways. Lydia, Inigo, and Brelyna walked to the left, Valdimar took J'zargo and Marine right, and T'mara and I took the center path past Sinderion's lab together with Glacier. While the others walked away, the girl looked around again and admitted:

"There certainly is a difference between seeing an image of Blackreach somewhere and actually being in the place in reality. I would not want to explore here on my own, and I am very glad I do not have to."

_[Author's Notes: I'd really love to get a few more reviews to learn how my readers like the story. I am encouraged by the number of views, but please write at least a few words – thank you!]_


	53. Chapter 53 - Amazing Blackreach

**Chapter 53: Amazing Blackreach**

_[15__th__of Sun's Height__4E 202]_

Glacier, T'mara and I walked past Sinderion՚s lab after we had waved to the other teams, who were about to explore in other directions. After the lab, we followed a path downwards towards some water, and soon we found a few more crimson nirnroot plants. Same as the green variation, those plants also emitted some kind of singing, and we almost regretted picking them. In the distance and higher up, there was something like a glowing orange ball in the air, potentially hinting at a secret.

Not far from the water we noticed a few strange structures, which almost looked like very much oversized chrysalises. I had not seen one of those before and curiously stepped closer to examine one of them, when it suddenly exploded, and a huge insect like beast emerged. Sensing danger I jumped back, and not too soon, because the swung tail just barely missed me. I retreated further, and T'mara attacked with a fire blast. The beast looked like almost unhurt and proceeded to move in our direction. Glacier had stayed back and used her bow, and I also cast fire blasts now. While we were busy fighting off one of them, another chrysalis set a second monster free, and things were getting somewhat heated. Using an opportunity I jumped behind my wife; T'mara saw both creatures almost side by side for a moment and used her '_YOL TOOR SHUL_' fire shout; this caused a lot of damage, so that one of them fell prone to further blasts, and the other one succumbed to my greatsword a few seconds later.

Once we had rested a little, Glacier explained:

"I think that they are called chaurus hunters. They are some of the most dangerous creatures down here; maybe we better keep some distance from the chrysalises, whenever we see them. As far as I recall, the creatures are unlikely to get out unless we make too much noise or get too close to their shells."

Turning south again, staying one our side of the, we found a few Falmer occupying a raised stone walkway, and they did not look like they planned to go somewhere else anytime soon.

"Glacier," I started, "maybe this is a good opportunity to practice sneaking. T'mara and I would like avoid at least some fights. What about it?"

"Cool, yes," the girl agreed, "I will try my best and practice. I agree that it would be nice to circumvent some of the fighting, and my soft fur armor should not hinder sneaking too much."

The young girl actually focused on sneaking nicely; she was careful where she stepped, and she looked around to see where the closest enemies might be. With Falmer, of course, noise was the main factor, as they had excellent hearing, but were almost blind. Glacier's fur armor was indeed suited well for sneaking, and the girl was getting more confident by the minute.

On the way south we encountered a few places looking like ore veins, but with a strange glow. Getting curious, I tried my pickaxe on one, and to my surprise I not only got some ebony ore, but also a few rubies and a soul gem. I tried another one and got corundum ore, an amethyst, and two more soul gems.

"I have not seen veins like that before!" I told my companions. "The veins I know provide a single type of ore only, but since when can we collect gems from them, too?"

"I am not sure," Glacier commented, "but I think that they are called 'geode veins' and can only be found here in Blackreach."

"This is really a weird place," T'mara added, "but also kind of interesting and awesome."

Further south we intended to cross the water to the western side, and we looked at a big fortress like structure on the other side of the creek. However, the shallow water was closely guarded and occupied by a group of Falmer, and they did not look like they had any intention to leave there soon. We found good cover behind a large rock and debated what to do.

"Can't we detour this place and cross the water further down?" T'mara asked.

"Look south, there are even more Falmer this way" I objected.

"And also more chaurus hunter chrysalises" Glacier added.

"Got it" T'mara nodded. "Indeed it looks like the best way is to eliminate the Falmer guarding the river ford right here."

We readied our bows and my crossbow and started shooting from behind cover, only briefly raising our bodies and weapons. For a while the Falmer were confused and could not find out where the attack was coming from, and once they had noticed where we were, it was too late for them to do anything about it. We carefully checked if the fight had attracted attention from other Falmer further down and waited like ten more minutes, but no other enemies approached.

"Why is it" my wife asked "that we can easily dispatch a group of Falmer right here, and their brethren downriver, not really far from here, either do not notice or do not care? At least one of them even looked in our direction, but no alarm was raised!"

"That is Skyrim for you" the Redguard girl explained. "I agree it's weird, but I have learned to just take advantage of it rather then worrying why."

"Another item to add to my collection of Skyrim oddities" I added. "Let's go!"

We crossed the water, getting closer to the fortress like structure on the other side, and Glacier whispered over to us:

"This place is called the 'Silent City', I believe."

Well, we certainly were tempted to investigate a little. T'mara looked at the walls and paths and asked:

"Is it just me or are there also non Falmer walking around?"

Glacier replied: "The Falmer here keep human slaves."

Rather than encountering the slaves and Falmer on the walls and inside the complex, we opted to sneak in via a huge unlocked grate on the river bank. The inside was partially flooded, but also dimly illuminated by glowing mushrooms and a couple of geode veins. Walking through shallow water made sneaking almost impossible, and so we had to kill a few Falmer standing guard at junctions. We were kind of expecting a way up, but could not find any such access. Rather, the way forward followed a number turns, and only much later we finally looked at stairs leading up to a raised section. Just when we wanted to get up there, a large door opened and a group of Falmer came in. Glacier, T'mara and I ducked behind a large pipe for cover and saw a group of six or seven Falmer with a prisoner, who was tightly bound and carried between them. T'mara whispered over to us with some excitement in her voice:

"The prisoner looks like Marine!"

And indeed, the prisoner seemed to be a young female Redguard. My eyes were not good enough to see more details from here, but T'mara certainly had better eyesight. How and why did Marine get separated from her companions? The group left through another door, and I asked my companions:

"Should we follow them and rescue Marine first or better check where they came from to make sure that our six is covered?"

"If we leave Pammy and Bran out here," T'mara suggested, "we should have enough time to defeat the Falmer and get the girl out, don't you think so?"

"Okay, let's do it. I will use my crossbow as soon as the door is open, and you can shout as soon as you can do so safely without hitting the prisoner. Glacier, you can also use your bow."

Pammy was ordered to stand watch outside with Bran, and T'mara opened the door the group had gone through as quietly as possible. The Dwemer had constructed their doors in an amazing way, and even after so many years without proper maintenance and regular lubrication, the door opened almost silently. A couple of Falmer turned around, and we dropped them with a bolt and an arrow. The prisoner was indeed Marine, and she was shackled to a table, with two Falmer close to her, and another three Falmer were doing something in a corner. T'mara shouted her '_YOL TOOR SHUL_' into the corner, and my bolt and Glacier's arrow got the two close to the table. We quickly looked around to make sure we had not missed anything, and Glacier called out:

"Look into the corner!"

From the corner, a fence gate lead into a small nest area with a couple of chaurus reapers. They had been woken by the fight and now looked for us. My greatsword killed one of them, and another arrow from Glacier stopped the second.

T'mara was now setting the prisoner free, and we found Marine to be drugged or paralyzed, not reacting to our efforts. As we wanted to find out quickly why Marine had been separated from he companions, I slung her over my shoulder and we left the place, sneaking through the other door. We now found ourselves in a kind of pumping station. Moving ahead, we soon found a raised walkway with plenty of Falmer on it, occasionally shooting arrows into an area on the other side. Sometimes a fire blast was delivered from that area, but most of the time it did not hit a target. After sneaking closer, we could hear some voices from that area, and one of them was like that:

"This one will eventually hit you with a fireball!"

"J'zargo is about to roast you with his superior magic!"

J'zargo! And probably Valdimar with him, and they might be trapped in a corner without long distance weapons. I carefully placed Marine on the ground and got my crossbow out, T'mara and Glacier readied their bows, and we released at the same time, killing three Falmer on the raised walkway. We had good cover, so that the other Falmer could not locate us right away, and we found three more targets, having reduced their number by about half now. Pammy decided to get involved now, and raced upwards with a loud roar, distracting the enemies so that we could shoot again, and the last one finally fled.

"Although this one would eventually have persevered, J'zargo is happy to see fellow fighters" J'zargo greeted us in his usual way.

Valdimar was more practical: "Sorry to meet like that, my Thane, but we were overwhelmed by superior forces, and Marine got separated from us. I am very glad to see that you found her unharmed, as it appears."

"Knowing Marine, I would not have been surprised to learn that she just ran off on her own" I suspected.

"No, not really, my Thane" Valdimar shook his head. "It was not her fault that the large group of Falmer surprised us when she was looking at something at the other end of the hall, and she simply could not easily get back to us and was overwhelmed by superior forces; we could not do anything to help her."

Meanwhile Marine seemed to be waking up, and we were able to feed here a healing and a stamina potion, and also one to cure poison. After a few minutes she was able to talk again and asked what had happened, and we told her what we knew. As we were in a safe place, for now at least, a rest time was called for, and Valdimar told us about what they had seen on their way here:

"Believe it or not, on our way here we saw a giant, and he did not have any mammoths to guard. He was just slowly walking around in a small valley. The mushrooms and geode veins we saw were nice, and we managed to get some ore and gems out of them. Except for that, there were Falmer almost everywhere."

"I wonder if the Dwemer had planned for the Falmer to taker over most of their places" T'mara commented.

"Maybe not, but most likely we will never know," Valdimar replied, "as the Dwemer left without telling us why and where to."

"True," I mused, "but maybe scholars like Arniel Gane will eventually find out more about this mystery."

When we had all eaten from the food supplies we carried with us and rested, Marine told us that she was now reasonably fit again, and we moved up to another door we had seen. It lead us to a larger hall with some benches. A single Falmer stood guard, but was quickly defeated. We contemplated about what this place was for, and Inigo suggested:

"Maybe this is planned as a resting place to get food?"

Valdimar doubted that: "Wouldn't it make sense to have a kitchen close by, if this is for food and eating?"

"Maybe the Dwemer liked to talk and sat down to do this" Glacier thought.

"Or maybe this was something like a Dwemer church?" Marine put in.

We would probably never learn about that, unless some clever scientist came up with an answer to some missing questions, and I mentioned that with a smile. Glacier liked my comment and replied:

"Can you imagine that, where Marine and I come from, they have people with a special occupation called 'archaeologists', and they spend all day digging in some ruins and trying to find out how earlier cultures might have lived. When they have some results, they write a book on it or make a documentation on TV."

"What is 'TV'?" T'mara asked curiously.

"Never mind," Marine replied, "that's just one of the weird gimmicks we used to have."

On the side of the room we found another door, and it got us out of the building, right onto a paved ramp leading upwards, right into the center of what Marine said to be the 'Silent City'. We sneaked upwards until we could see more, and all around us there were more Falmer and some servants patrolling and walking around.

"Do you think that there is a way to set the servants free?" I whispered to my companions.

"Forget about it," Marine replied, "they are all like totally brainwashed and stoned and would not know what to do if they were free. Actually, even if you'd ask them, they'd probably fight for their masters."

Tentatively I approached one of those servants, a male Redguard, but he warned me off when I came closer, and he was not willing to get into a conversation. I gave up on the thought, and we searched for a way out of the place. Going south, we had to kill a few Falmer who came too close, but eventually we found a gate and left the 'Silent City'.

As soon as we had reached a safe distance, T'mara asked:

"Are we going to split up again or rather stay together?"

I replied:

"Not sure about that, but we still have a lot to explore, I think."

J'zargo commented:

"This one see a tower south of here; could that be our target?"

Valdimar had an idea:

"What about we split up again, with one team approaching the tower from the east and the other from the west, and we meet again there?"

We all agreed and split up again. Valdimar took J'zargo and Marine southwest, while Glacier, T'mara and myself took the bridge across the river. On our side, the first part of the way was clear, but after the bridge we just barely managed to circumvent a group of three Chaurus chrysalises. We passed a structure Glacier said to be the 'Great Lift a Rhaldbthar', and when we were about to move on, we hard somebody calling, and we noticed Lydia standing outside a structure across the water. We called back that we'd wait, and half an hour later she, Inigo, and Brelyna had climbed up some stairs to join us.

Inigo quickly reported:

"We have not found a tower, but had a quick look into that building, which seems to be some derelict pumphouse. Down there the path is open into some large ruins, but we did not have enough time to investigate in detail."

We agreed to make our way towards the tower together, and we found a few more ore and geode veins on the way. Cautiously approaching the tower, we noticed that access from our side seemed to be difficult, as a steep waterfall blocked our way, and steep walls blocked our way even if we decided to swim. Eventually we decided to cross the water upstream and walk down to the only visible bridge towards the tower, and once we got there, Valdimar, J'zargo and Marine also just arrived.

We exchanged information, and we decided to have a look at the building the west before heading towards the tower. There was a low stone building, and the door was no locked. The inside was not remarkable, although some loot was stored in a chest. In the building's 'courtyard', though, we found all kind of different mushrooms, in multiple patches, and Glacier said:

"This almost looks like they were all planted there on purpose."

T'mara replied: "Maybe they were. You know, normal food like potatoes and leeks and wheat probably does not grow well down here, without sunlight, but mushrooms do. Actually, I am going to pick up some of them; White Cap can be used for a 'Restore Magicka' potion, Blisterwort for 'Restore Health', Imp Stool are ingredients for 'Paralysis', and so on."

I was proud of my wife; she had really picked up on alchemy, and we both knew that one could never have too many ingredients and too many potions. When T'mara added dozens of picked mushrooms to her small apothecary satchel, Glacier looked curiously and asked:

"How can you store that many ingredients in such a small satchel? I mean, I have seen that before but how does it work?"

My wife smiled and told her: "Same as our backpacks, this satchel has a magical enchantment, and it can hold an almost infinite number of ingredients."

I added: "Whoever invented this enchantment, they did a great job. I could not imagine finding valuable loot or really important ingredients somewhere far away from home, just to notice that your bags are all full."

Marine snorted: "Yeah, that would be a killer. Got to have mules or so instead for your stuff."

I resisted the temptation to ask what a 'mule' was, and Glacier asked on: "This enchantment also works on weight reduction, right? All the stuff I have in my backpack would normally weigh a ton or so, but it only feels like a load of light clothes and nothing else."

I nodded and confirmed: "Yes, weight is also reduced a lot. I have no clue how this works, but it does, and I am glad for it."

T'mara smiled and said: "One of those things to add to our imaginary 'Skyrim's oddities' book, I guess."

We took our time waiting until T'mara was done with her mushroom collection, looked around a little more to make sure we had not missed anything, and slowly started to cross the bridge over to the tower. Right in front of us there was a big door leading inside the tower, and a set of stairs lead downwards to our left.

"While it seems to be more likely to find something interesting inside," I said, "I suggest to first investigate where the stairs lead to, even if it is a dead end. I would not want to have a few enemies in my back."

The others agreed, and thus we first followed the stairs down. A chest to our right provided some jewelry and a couple of soul gems, and further down we found another crimson nirnroot plant, alerting us to its presence with its music. The stairs ended at a stone platform above the water, with a smaller set of stairs actually leading down into the water, and that was it. Across the water we could see a Falmer campsite with a few tents.

Once we had climbed the stairs again, we entered the building and found ourselves in a lift right away. Once it had moved us down, we were in a short corridor which ended in a smaller room with a number of book shelves and a significant number of books, but all of them damaged and burned. There was an abandoned campsite in the center of the room, and some packs and satchels were around, most of them empty. The corners had some minor loot on small tables, like smaller potions soul gems, scrolls and such, and it was not clear to me where to go next, but Brelyna called out from her position:

"There is a passage leading on from this side, right behind this door!"

Once we had searched the entire room, we followed Brelyna into another passage, which eventually opened up into a big round room.

Without even being told by Marine or Glacier, we realized that we had reached our destination. While moving on, a deep rumbling noise was heard from further down, like some device still being operational. Once we had walked up the spiral ramp, we saw some kind of weird Dwemer mechanism with a few lenses or such in the center of the room, attached to thin curved metal arms and struts. A group of control pillars was on the side on a raised platform. At first we just stood there gaping, and nobody dared to touch any of the controls. Later on we started to think loud about what to do, and T'mara picked up a journal from a corpse. The journal had some interesting sections:

_Five rings, but only four buttons? Most of of them don't work most of the time anyhow. When the lights line up, more open, but they don't seem to help. Just make another damned thing move._

_The old fleabag Khajiit what sold me this cube said something about 'the light through the knowledge through the machine rests on the cube.' _

This was not the solution, but at least it was a hint. Maybe we needed to focus the lenses properly? But we still did not know which buttons to press in which order. Finally we decided that it should not hurt to apply the wrong order and let everybody who wanted have a shot. It turned out that the two girls were most successful. They admitted that they did not recall the proper solution, but they set their minds to work and experimented, until they got it. When the last proper button was pressed, the entire mechanism moved and turned until finally something was revealed in the center. Fortunately we had thought of placing the Lexicon from Septimus in the proper place – this turned out to be important.

The center of the room started to glow from some kind of hidden illumination, and T'mara slowly and carefully moved over. When she came back, she indeed had an Elder Scroll with her – it appeared that we had achieved our goal, and much faster than expected, too.

"I wonder," I asked Marine and Glacier, "why you had suggested to pack lot of supplies, but it only took us three days to get here?"

Marine replied: "Dude, when I played Blackreach, I always found myself distracted by the frigging glowing mushrooms and such. Also, I could not resist the temptation to enter each building and look around, just to make sure that I did not miss anything interesting. I sometimes needed more than a week to get here!"

We agreed that we were about done for the day, and a rest period beckoned. Thus we moved back to the room with the abandoned campsite, had a supper together, and then got down into our bedrolls. As usual, Bran and Pammy stood guard to watch over our sleep.

_[Authors' Note: Same here; when I play, I also feel a need to check out each individual building, even when having lots of stuff already. I also have to admit that I use a mod which increases carry capacity a little more at each level up._

_Please keep in mind that we are really focusing on completing the main quest. If you have ideas or suggestions what my heroes should do once Alduin is no longer a threat, please write a few words – thank you!]_


	54. Chapter 54 - Thalmor Prison

**Chapter 54: Interlude at the Thalmor Prison**

_[16__th__ – __24__th__of Sun's Height__4E 202]_

After getting up again and when he had eaten breakfast on the next day, we discussed our future plans together.

"Obviously, we need go up to High Hrothgar and the Throat of the World and read the Elder Scroll up there" T'mara stated the obvious.

"High Hrothgar? Throat of the World? Snow and ice?" Glacier shivered briefly, despite her warm clothes.

"Well," I added, understanding her concern, "there's really no need for all of us to go there. I actually believe that only T'mara and I with maybe one or two others will be plenty. The Greybeards are not so fond of visitors, I understand."

Lydia stated: "Inigo and I will be happy to go back to Winterhold, if that's all right with you Thanes, and we can take the others back with us; we would like to study magic further for some more time."

Glacier nodded: "Yes, although I do have my nice warm and enchanted fur armor and Winterhold is cold, too, I'd much prefer to go back there, if I get a choice." The poor girl shivered again.

J'zargo and Brelyna also agreed to get back to the college, but Valdimar firmly stated: "My Thane, I am your sword and your shield. I will go with you and your wife to face Alduin!"

"Yes, you should" I nodded. "One never knows when and where an additional strong sword may be critical."

"And I want to go, too!" shouted Marine. "I really need to see this black beast in reality!"

I looked over to my wife: "T'mara, what do you think? The two of us and Valdimar and Marine?"

"Sure, why not" she replied. "Than this is settled."

The back of the big round room where we had gained the Elder Scroll from the Dwemer device – Glacier told us that it was called an 'Oculory' – had a small door which led to another one of those lifts; when we all stood on the platform and shifted the big lever, it got us right back to the surface, and we found ourselves in the southern region of the hold which was named 'The Pale', roughly north of the city of Whiterun, next to an abandoned campsite. Our rest periods had obviously been mixed up a little down there, and although we had just risen from sleep a couple of hours earlier, the sun was indicating that noon had already passed.

We said our final good byes now, and Lydia and Inigo took J'zargo, Brelyna and Glacier back towards Winterhold, walking east. 'Nightgale Inn' was not too far from here, and they should be easily able to get there before dusk. Valdimar, Marine, T'mara and I turned southeast and soon found the main road towards Whiterun, close to 'Loreius Farm'. We followed the road, passing Whiterun, and just made it to Riverside Lodge before the sun went down. Iona and Jordis were happy to see us when we arrived; they quickly prepared supper and got introduced to my new housecarl.

After the exciting days we had had in Alftand and Blackreach, we spent two days of resting and relaxation before moving on.

When we discussed our travel plans on the morning of travel during breakfast, Jordis asked to join. She argued: "I have been stuck with housekeeping for so long now, and my sword badly aches to see some action again – please let me come along with you, my Thane!"

I understood this and asked Iona: "Iona, what do you think, can you cope on your own here for a week or two?"

"Don't worry, that's all right. I might be able to read a few books I had wanted to read for quite some time, so that I'll be fine."

Jordis was ready with her pack quickly, and within the hour the five of us – my wife and myself, Marine, Jordis, and Valdimar – walked south towards Riverwood, as the majority had voted for taking the southern route via Riverwood and Helgen to Ivarstead. When we got into Helgen, we were warmly welcomed, and we took our time to chat with the guys there. As we had found out earlier, a group of ex-soldiers had taken over the town, and they had all suffered greatly by the Thalmor and were looking for revenge.

We had reached the town Helgen just before noon, and Valerius and Marcus invited us to lunch. When we had eaten, Marcus Vannus told us with a grim face:

"One of my most loyal soldiers, Korst, was sent on an intelligence gathering mission two weeks ago to a new Thalmor prison and has not yet returned. This prison is located south of here on the road past Fort Neugrad that leads further to the Cyrodiil border, and I fear that Korst may have been captured."

"Is there something we can do to help?"

"Actually, yes, there is. I do have some enchanted Imperial Officer's armor to wear to impersonate an Imperial Envoy with orders to transfer Korst to the Thalmor Embassy. I do not dare to show up there myself, as they'd probably recognize me right away, but maybe somebody who is less known to the Thalmor, could do that."

"I certainly do not qualify for that," T'mara responded, "as I am on their list as well, and I could not well pass for an Imperial officer."

"I could do this, I guess," I added, "if I get a few strong men with me."

"I will be with you, of course, my Thane" Valdimar was quick to confirm.

"And me, too!" Jordis added.

"Sorry for my earlier statement, housecarl – I should have said 'strong men and women' rather than just 'strong men'. So, T'mara and Marine better stay here at Helgen, right?"

"No, we will not," T'mara stated, "we will join you and hide outside, and if there's trouble, we can still help."

Well, it had not really been our plan to do this, but we could not refuse the plea for help, specifically hearing that a valuable ally seemed to be in danger. A few days more or less should not matter, either. As we needed some more time for preparations and discussions, we decided to stay here for the night and embark on our new adventure on the next day.

The special armor Marcus had was fortunately made for a very tall and big man and fit me almost perfectly. Valdimar, Jordis, and two soldiers from Valerius' group – Cienna and Falco – got normal Imperial soldier armors and weapons, and we were ready to go.

"You know," Marcus said as we were about to leave, "I do not really think that the Thalmor will fall for the heist, but maybe you can get them distracted for a few minutes at least."

"Well, although I hate to say something like this," I replied, "the Thalmor have done lots of bad things, and I happen to believe in Talos worshiping, too. If we have to kill all of them there, I will not hesitate to do this."

We left Helgen through the eastern gate and turned right, thus avoiding the Fort Neugrad area. After reaching some elevation, we stopped for a few moments to enjoy the view which presented itself. From here we could look down into Falkreath Hold.

"The forest down there looks so peaceful" T'mara said.

"Yes, but once you look closer, you'll find frostbite spiders, bandits, wolves, necromancers, and other problems" Jordis snorted.

"It's still nice to be able to the see and enjoy the beauty of Skyrim every once in a while" I insisted, while accepting her point.

A few minutes later we moved on, and the road eventually made a long left turn. A pack of wolves dared to attack, but did not really have a chance against the five of us. The two surviving wolves decided to get away rather than facing our swords and spells, and they ran off using a small side path which branched off to the right, winding through steep rocks in westerly direction. Just out of curiosity I asked:

"Does somebody know what's out there?"

"Not sure if I remember correctly," Marine responded, "but I think there is a small fort with frigging vampires over there."

After about two more hours or so of walking, we saw a large stone building ahead to the right of the road, and we assumed that we had reached our target. Behind a large boulder giving us cover we discussed options, like when T'mara and Marine should try to get in, and rested for a few minutes. T'mara and Marine found good cover behind a few rocks almost directly opposite from the Thalmor prison.

When we were ready, we approached the door of the Thalmor prison and I knocked, and soon the door was opened. A Thalmor soldier looked at us and asked for our business here, and I said in my best command voice:

"We have orders to move a prisoner – we need to talk with your superior!"

We were quickly guided inside, and the soldier told us that he'd get the duty officer. A couple of minutes later a Thalmor officer introduced himself as Halindir and asked to see our legitimization. I handed over the letter I had received from Valerius, and he studied it carefully. When he was done, he shook his head:

"Why were we not told about this in advance? And why is there no Thalmor guard with you? This is most unusual!"

"We are just doing our job and following orders!" I responded.

The Thalmor officer discussed the issue quickly with his assistant Oronar, and it was very obvious that they doubted the authenticity of the letter and the transfer. However, it had been well forged, and they could not completely ignore it either.

"Very well," Halindir decided, "I will release Korst into your custody, but a Thalmor detachment will go with you to make sure that you arrive at the embassy safely. Oronar, bring the prisoner forward!"

Half an hour later a Thalmor Justiciar, a Thalmor wizard, and three Thalmor soldiers stepped out of the building; Korst was delivered to us, and we joined them for our trip to Solitude. Of course we did not have any intention to actually arrive there; we just waited for a proper opportunity to get rid of the Thalmor. This at least should be easier further down the road than right in the prison itself, and I considered us lucky that the Thalmor had actually released the soldier to us without a fight.

As it happened, when we were just out of sight and hearing range from the prison, a loud roar was heard and a dragon swooped down on us. I dragged Korst, who did not know yet that we were here to rescue him, behind a big rock; he was bound and unarmed and needed to be protected. The Thalmor attacked the dragon right away, but they had not yet learned about a dragon's vulnerabilities, and the one Thalmor who had a bow missed the flying dragon most of the time. I did not have my crossbow with me today, but Valdimar and I both send frost clouds towards the beast, whom we had seen to spit fire before. We also knew to get out of the dragon's way when it blew fire, but one of the Thalmor was not quick enough and burned alive. The Justiciar suggested to hurry back to the prison, but I refused. He was conveniently standing in a tight group between his soldiers, and behind him T'mara came out from hiding; she saw me nodding and pointing at them and shouted '_YOL TOOR SHUL_' at the Thalmor group. The dragon had, right at this time, also selected the Thalmor group as next target and added its own fire, and while T'mara and Valdimar focused on the dragon, Jordis, the two Helgen guards and me managed to quickly finish off the two Thalmor who were still alive.

Once we were now all able to focus on it, the dragon was soon brought down, and now Marine also joined in. I had to admit that her attacks were quite precise and coordinated, and she seemed to know quite well how to stay out of the beast's reach, mostly approaching from the side. Falco from the Helgen guards, though, got too close to the dragon's tail and was swiped away; the other guard, Cienna, just succeeded to jump back in time. T'mara alternated blasting frost and releasing arrows, Valdimar blasted off as well, and Marine continued attacking with her weapon, so that the dragon eventually was dead. While my wife absorbed the dragon soul, I knelt down next to the injured guard and applied my restoration magic. He probably had a few internal injuries and broken ribs, but my strong healing spell took care of that; thanks to more training at the College of Winterhold, my Restoration skill was now at Expert level.

"With some luck, the Thalmor may never learn what happened here" I said when we were done checking for injuries and freeing Korst from his bonds.

"Yes, but who are you and why did you take me?" Korst wanted to know, addressing T'mara. "From what I have seen and heard, you are Dragonborn, right?"

"Yes, I am," my wife replied, "and we came to the prison to set you free. We have met Valerius Tiberius and Marcus Vannus at Helgen, and we are doing this as a favor to them. If it's all right for you, we will escort you back to Helgen."

"And to be polite," I added, "let me complete the introductions. The Dragonborn, this pretty Khajiit, is named T'mara, and she is my wife. The young blue haired Redguard girl over there, is Marine, the Nord woman is my housecarl Jordis, the strong Nord next to me is my housecarl Valdimar, and the two guards over there, Cienna and Falco, work for Valerius. My name is Timotheus, and although I still wear an Imperial Officer's armor, I am neutral in the Civil War."

"Well, thank you for the introductions," Korst responded, "and thank you very much, all of you, for rescuing me. I do not doubt that the Thalmor would have eventually killed me in there. I'd appreciate a lot if you could escort me to Helgen, as I am still a little weak."

It turned out that he was more than just 'a little weak'; he had probably been bound and tortured for a week or more, and his leg muscles gave up soon; even a Stamina potion did not help very much – the man needed rest. As I did not want us to rest in the open, though, I tossed my backpack to Valdimar and slung Korst over my shoulder. He was not a small man, but I was very strong and would manage, at least for some time. About half way to our target, Valdimar kindly offered to switch, and he took Korst while I took the packs, and when we were almost in sight of the town, we switched again. Finally I carried Korst into the Keep, and Cienna walked ahead to find a suitable bed for him.

After the day's events we rested until night came, and staid for another night. Marcus Vannus said:

"Korst is one of my best soldiers and a good friend. I will never forget that you saved him from the Thalmor. Please visit us again when you can, friends – you will always be welcome here in Helgen!"

We promised that we'd do that and retired for the night.

The trip from Helgen to Ivarstead did not take the entire day, but we did not want to start going up the steps in the afternoon, so that we first went into the inn once we had arrived in the small town. Wilhelm was enthusiastic:

"Welcome again, everybody! Milk for all, or not quite?"

Valdimar looked at us curiously and ordered mead, same as Jordis, but Marine, T'mara and I all had milk. Well, Marine might have been tempted to get something else, but wasn't allowed to in our company, as T'mara and I did not consider wine, mead or ale appropriate for a young teenage girl. Seeing Valdimar's look, I explained that we were regular guests here and that Wilhelm, the innkeeper, knew us well enough to serve milk without being prompted. The concept of being addressed as 'milkdrinker' and not taking it as an offense was something my new housecarl needed to get used to, obviously.

As we almost always did, we chatted with the innkeeper for some time and also introduced Valdimar. After dinner, which was venison stews with vegetables today, we retired to our rooms early so that we could rise early in the morning.

When starting our ascent at the base of the 7000 steps on the next day, T'mara looked at me and said:

"Is this the first time that we have somebody with us going up here?"

"Yes," I nodded, "I actually believe that it is, unless my memory fails me. But we've been up in High Hrothgar so many times by now, that I start to lose track."

Well, in a group of five climbing up the mountain certainly was more fun. Valdimar, Jordis and Marine had their own comments and shouts when fighting off ice wolves, ice wraiths, and the occasional snow bear, and this always amused me. I mean, animals were not likely to be intimidated by insults like "You'll die this day!" or such. None of us had a concern when it was slowly getting colder, either, and towards the evening we reached the spot T'mara and I always used to set up the tent. Marine and Jordis had agreed to share a tent for the one night, and after supper we went to sleep. Pammy was conjured and standing guard outside together with Bran, though.

A light snowfall greeted us on the next morning, and once we had eaten our breakfast, we packed our stuff again and marched on. Marine, Jordis and Valdimar were curious about the gorge with the frost troll I had warned them about earlier, and we wondered if the place would be occupied again. They had asked to take care of the beast, and as a frost troll indeed showed up, all three of them attacked in sync. I had to admit that I was quite impressed with the way Marine fought. She had told us some time ago that she had done training in what she called 'Martial Arts' at home, and whatever that exactly was, it showed. For a young teenage girl this was astonishing, and she even dared to get close to the frost troll, once she had recognized that she was much more nimble and could easily avoid being hit by the beast. This enabled her to get a number of hits in, and the three of them alternated between physical hits from Marine, arrows from Jordis, who had her bow with her, and fire blasts from Valdimar. Without the troll's healing ability they would have overcome the beast in two or three minutes, but as it turned out, they succeeded nonetheless, but were completely out of breath after the fight.

"This was a tough one" Marine gasped, once they were done.

I nodded: "Indeed, it was. With their healing ability frost trolls are challenging adversaries."

When we had rested a little, I added: "By the way, Marine, your fighting skills are quite impressive. Do you think that you might be interested to join the Companions?"

Marine looked at me and replied: "Yes, maybe. You think that they would want to learn from me?"

I laughed and responded: "Yes, maybe that one, too. I'd like to see Vilkas trying to get a hit in on you. But seriously, if you want, I could introduce you when we are in Whiterun again."

Marine nodded: "Yes, I might like that, thank you."

The rest of the day went by without major incidents, and eventually we reached the massive doors of High Hrothgar. When he opened the door for us, Arngeir was surprised to see five visitors rather than the two he was used to, but he was only able to find four beds for all of us, apologizing by saying that they did not have more beds for guests. However, as T'mara and I shared one anyway, that was good enough for us.

Once we had told Arngeir that we had an Elder Scroll and were planning to go up to Paarthurnax on the next day, we rested for one night in the monastery, before we proceeded upwards. Same as last time, my wife needed to shout '_LOK VAH KOOR_' several times to clear the skies for us, and after a strenuous climb in the thin mountain air, we reached the plateau where Paarthurnax resided. He was not around, but must have noticed us, as he swooped down to his usual place atop of the world wall soon, greeting us. We introduced our two companions, and once he had learned that we actually had an Elder Scroll with us, he rumbled:

"You have it. The Kel – the Elder Scroll. Tood kreh... qalos. Time shudders at its touch. There is no question. You are doom-driven. Kogaan Akatosh. The very bones of the earth are at your disposal. Go then. Fulfill your destiny. Take the Scroll to the Time-Wound. Do not delay. Alduin will be coming. He cannot miss the signs."

"What and where is the 'Time-Wound'"? T'mara asked, being unsure of what to do.

Marine jumped in: "Look, it's just over there, what looks like a distortion in the air. This is the spot where the Elder Scroll was used to banish Alduin by the first followers of the Voice."

Paarthurnax looked at the young Redguard girl in surprise:

"The young Joor is more knowledgeable than I would have expected."

Marine led us over to the proper location, and T'mara looked around: "Do I just read the Elder Scroll here?"

Marine nodded, and my wife thus unpacked the scroll and started to open it.

_[Author's Notes: The quest to free Korst is another task from the mod 'Helgen Reborn'. When I did that quest, though, I never succeeded in persuading the Thalmor, and a fight always broke out.]_


	55. Chapter 55 - Where is Alduin?

**Chapter 55: Where is Alduin?**

_[24__th__ – __30__th__of Sun's Height__4E 202]_

First, when T'mara started to read the Elder Scroll here at the Time-Wound at the Throat of the World, nothing seemed to happen. After a few minutes, though, I noticed that her body looked kind of semi-transparent, and her face looked like she was dreaming. Her feet and legs seemed unable to support her body any longer, so that I sat down next to her and pulled her into my lap. Occasionally, she would mumble a few words, like:

"Gormlaith … no … Alduin … shout ..."

After maybe half an hour had passed, her body state slowly returned to normal and she opened her eyes, looking at me:

"Where am I? Where is Alduin?"

I told her that she had dreamed for about half an hour, and she recalled:

"Oh yes, suddenly I found myself with three Nordic heroes, who were fighting Alduin. They used the 'Dragonrend' Shout and successfully banished the world eater, and I think that I was able to learn it, so that I might be able to use the Shout, too."

There was not any more time to explain further, as a mighty roar was now heard in the air. A huge black dragon approached, and my wife shouted: "Alduin is here!"

The beast which slowly came closer looked very impressive and very dangerous. It soon turned out that this impression was quite correct. Even before the dragon attacked directly, it shouted something, and huge fireballs started to drop all around us, so that we were forced to pay attention in order to avoid getting hit.

Nevertheless I got my crossbow ready and released a few bolts. Some of them even hit, but the big dragon showed no sign of being injured. Paarthurnax called out:

"Dragonborn, now is the time to use your new shout – Dragonrend!"

T'mara paid attention, and when Alduin was approaching again, she shouted:

"_JOOR ZAH FRUL!_"

This managed to almost stop Alduin in mid-flight, and it looked like the dragon had flown right into a wall. He almost crashed, but just barely managed to recover and fly away, much slower than before, though.

"You hurt him, but you need to hit him again!" Paarthurnax called.

Of course T'mara needed to wait for some time until she could shout again, and the rest of us used the opportunity to hit the beast with what we had, which was bolts from me, fire blasts from Valdimar, and arrows from Jordis. Alduin was not bothered too much with that and used every opportunity to taunt us, or rather specifically the Dragonborn, like this:

"Dovahkiin, you call yourself? Arrogant mortal."

When he came close the next time, though, T'mara could shout again, and the Dragonrend Shout was used again, hitting Alduin full front. This time he was not able to recover and crashed into the ground almost full speed, not far from us.

Paarthurnax encouraged us:

"Now, Dovahkiin! Now he is vulnerable! This is your chance; strike with all your force and hurt him while he is grounded!"

We all heard that advice and hit Alduin again with everything we could muster, and this time our attacks indeed seemed to have at least some effect.

"You are not match for me, joor!"

The black beast shouted angrily, but he was wounded. Nonetheless, the fireballs raining down on us from the sky continued, and we also had to be very careful to stay out of reach from the dragon's claws and snout. Against such a strong adversary, though, we started to suffer from minor injuries, some of them due to the fireballs, some others while not evading the beast's blasts quickly enough.

Alduin continued to taunt us: "I have feasted on many greater than you."

T'mara was now panting from exertion, Valdimar՚s left arm was hanging down and had a long scratch, and Marine's skin seemed to be partially singed from some blasts. I also noticed that I would not be able to fight for much longer, and I shouted out to my companions:

"Take stamina potions!"

That helped for some time. When T'mara was not quick enough, Alduin rose again, but the next Dragonrend brought him down right after. Once again we gave him all we had, and he seemed to get weaker. Once more he defied us:

"Arrogant mortals! Your pride will be humbled, and your souls will feed my hunger."

I got a lucky shot in with one of my ice bolts, right into his throat, and this got the beast silent for now. With a last effort we focused ice blasts on the black dragon, and he finally collapsed. We thought that this was it, but we were going to be severely disappointed; Alduin lifted his head one more time:

"Meyz mul, Dovahkiin. You have become strong. But I am Al-du-in, Firstborn of Akatosh! Mulaagi zok lot! I cannot be slain here, by you or anyone else! You cannot prevail against me. I will outlast you... mortals!"

Defying the Dragonrend effect and despite our best efforts, he rose and flew off.

Paarthurnax had done his best to support us during the fight, but even he had not been able to prevent Alduin from fleeing. The old dragon seemed tired and exhausted, and we decided to not bother him with questions for now, but rather focused on healing our injuries. Thanks to the restoration skill both T'mara and I had, we were able to get all of our companions healed within less than one hour, and once we had nodded our thanks to the old dragon, who did not offer any further advice at this time, we slowly moved down towards the monastery.

When we got there, all four inhabitants were already waiting for us in the courtyard, and Arngeir anxiously asked:

"Alduin... we heard the Dragonrend Shout from here... you defeated him?"

T'mara nodded and sighed: "Yes, kind of, but he escaped, flying east. We need to find out where he went."

"The old tales say that he is able to travel into Sovngarde to devour the souls of the dead. But they don't say how he does this, and we do not know either."

I offered a thought: "Maybe one of his dragon allies could tell us..."

"Yes, of course! But how to force a dragon to talk to you... There is one possibility. But... no, the Jarl would never agree."

I asked: "The Jarl? What are you talking about?"

"Do you know Dragonsreach? The Jarl of Whiterun՚s palace? Its name is no accident. The palace was originally built to hold a captive dragon."

T'mara did not understand: "But I thought there weren't any dragons until Alduin came back. Wait, was this during the time I experienced up there, so long ago?"

"Yes, this was back in the days of Olaf One-Eye, thousands of years ago. In those days, dragons could still be found among the remote mountain peaks. Before the Blades wiped them all out."

I looked surprised: "So the stories about King Olaf actually capturing a dragon in Dragonsreach are true? I read about that in a book I retrieved for the Bard's College in Solitude, but I had assumed this to be a legend rather than history."

"Yes, this did happen, indeed. In order to trap a dragon there, you'd need the Jarl՚s cooperation, of course. That might not be easy to come by. You must trust in the rightness of your cause, and the strength of your Voice, but even then the Jarl might refuse."

T'mara looked at me: "Capturing a dragon right in the city of Whiterun? Well, we can ask, I guess, but do you think that the Jarl would allow us?"

"Even if he does," I thought loud, "we'd still need to learn how to call a dragon."

After this conversation, we gathered for supper and soon dropped into our beds, tired from the exhaustion of the day.

When we sat around the table for breakfast after sleeping, we were unsure about what to do.

"Does it even make sense to ask the Jarl about using Dragonsreach like this?" T'mara asked.

"Maybe," I suggested, "we should first focus on finding out how we can actually call a dragon which is useful to be captured. After all, not even Paarthurnax knows about how to get to Sovngarde, so we'd need to get a special dragon."

"But how can we find out?" Jordis asked.

"Esbern might either know or be able to find out for us" I claimed.

T'mara had our map out by now and pondered something:

"You know, it's not really our business, but do you recall Sinderion՚s journal and the crimson nirnroot? He claimed that he wanted to visit a place called 'Sarethi Farm', and guess what: This place is not far from Ivarstead, due east, according to the map!"

"So, do you think we should visit this place? We have collected more than 30 crimson nirnroot plants after all, haven't we?"

We had, and we decided to go for this side trip. First, though, we needed to get down from the mountain, and once we had eaten, we merrily walked down the steps. After all, getting down was always easier than getting up, trained or not trained.

Wilhelm, when we entered the inn again, just shook his head and pondered:

"You know, with you guys I wonder if I should offer a rebate system of kind. You know, like when you paid for ten jugs of milk you get one free or so."

I chuckled and told him that we'd come anyway.

"You know, Wilhelm," I said, "we don't really come for your pretty face, but how many other inns are here in Ivarstead exactly?"

"Good point!" he admitted with a smirk.

As we planned to travel to that farm tomorrow, we took rooms for two nights. On the way down from the mountain we had defeated a snow bear, and we had brought the best meat as a gift for the innkeeper. Naturally, some of that was served to us for dinner.

A drizzle expected us on the next day, but it was summer, and the temperatures, down here at least, were quite comfortable. Reaching the farm only took about two hours for our group, with T'mara and myself, Valdimar, Marine and Jordis. Once there we found two sisters working the farm, Aduri and Avrusa Sarethi, both of them Dunmer. While we approached, we could here them talking:

"Aduri, how come the fields haven't been tilled like I asked?"

"Because it's boring. The fields are going to do fine... you don't have to dote over them so much."

"Boring? That food is paying for everything. If we lose even a single crop, we could starve or be forced to beg. I won't have it!"

"All right, I understand. I'll do it tomorrow, okay? Just get off my back."

When they noticed us, I greeted them:

"Excuse me, ladies, are any of you familiar with nirnroot, specifically crimson nirnroot?"

"Crimson Nirnroot? I have heard such a strain existed, but never imagined I'd see any in my lifetime" Avrusa replied. "Where did you find it?"

"I found it in Blackreach" I told her.

She thought about that: "Blackreach... why does that sound so familiar? Of course! It's where my mentor, Sinderion said he was going to do his field research. It's been... years I think, but perhaps you could still find him."

"Actually," I answered, "we were in Blackreach and we've found Sinderion՚s remains."

"I knew this day would eventually come!" she shouted. "At least poor Sinderion died doing what he loved, his field research. I told the old fool he should take it easy, but he was too stubborn. Perhaps someday I'll continue where he left off, it's the least I can do considering how much he did for me."

"I've brought this Crimson Nirnroot for you" I offered, getting our collection out of my pack.

"You've gathered quite a few of them as I see" Avrusa was surprised. "I'll search through Sinderion՚s notes and find some more information about the Crimson Nirnroot and its properties."

She took the crimson nirnroot plants from my hand and said: "Thank you. You've done alchemy a great service by helping to complete Sinderion՚s work."

When we looked around the farm a little bit, we found some small fenced in area with nirnroots growing in it, close to a small creek. Getting curious, we asked about this:

"There's a lot of Nirnroot around here! How come they grow in such a large group here?"

She proudly told us: "Actually, I'm growing it if you hadn't noticed. I'm the only person alive that can cultivate nirnroot from a seed to a fully grown plant."

"How did you accomplish such a feat?"

"I had quite the mentor. Sinderion taught me everything he know about the nirnroot and its strange properties. By the way, one of the ingredients I need to cultivate nirnroot are jazbay grapes... the acidic content of the juice is perfect for the soil. I need more of them for my current crop, but they are not so easy to find."

That was interesting to hear. It was not commonly known that Sinderion, or anybody else, had learned how to cultivate nirnroot. Even when you picked it from a wild plant, one needed to be very careful or risk that the remaining plant did not survive.

Regarding the jazbay grapes, I replied: "I will stop by again if I find some more of those. And, I happen to remember that at least some of them can be found around the hot spots northeast of here, specifically close to the road south of Kynesgrove. We are not heading in that direction now, but maybe some other time."

After some more small talk, we left the two sisters on their farm and walked back in the direction of Ivarstead.

This time we took the road north around 'Lake Geir', to get some variation in. Close to the bridge crossing the river and the waterfalls, we found a sad and tired looking male Imperial sitting on the road. When he saw us – T'mara and myself; the others were a little behind – approaching, he asked:

"Are they gone?"

We asked whom he was referring to, and he claimed:

"My name is Telrav. Bandits attacked and ransacked my cart. Can you help me?"

"How can we help?"

He pointed towards the tower on the other side of the bridge, further up on a hill: "My camp is nearby in the ruins of Nilheim. Get me there safely and you'll be rewarded."

While Valdimar, Jordis, and Marine still tagged behind us, discussing some alchemical ingredients, we followed the man, who proved to be surprisingly fit for a merchant. When we started to move up the path to the tower, he encouraged us:

"We're close now. I can see the camp."

We finally reached the camp and noticed several guards. That was strange; they should have seen the incident from here, and why hadn't they intervened and helped their comrade?

Telrav told us: "Wait here. I'll be right back with your reward."

He ran towards the tower, but rather than stepping in, he turned around, started to smirk and announced:

"Looks like we've got ourselves another couple of fools!"

At the same time, the other guards all stood up and unsheathed their weapons; apparently this had been a trick to lure unsuspecting travelers to the tower to be robbed.

Before they got a chance to attack us, I conjured Pammy with a quick movement of my left hand, and T'mara did the same with Edric. My wife also shouted '_FUS RO DAH_' into a group of three bandits standing close together, throwing them back against the fence behind them, and the shouting also alerted our friends, who now looked up at us from the other side of the bridge and started running towards us.

The bandits had not expected our quick reaction and were stunned for the moment. I used the opportunity to shout:

"We are giving you a chance to yield. Drop your weapons and leave this place, and you will live to see another day. Attack us, and you will all die!"

Pammy underlined my threat with a loud roar, but the bandits refused to be smart and attacked nonetheless. Well, I had tried.

Once again, the group of bandits missed the opportunity to coordinate their attack. Rather, each of them sought a different target, with three of them running down the path to meet our friends. With Jordis and Valdimar there, they would not get a chance, so that T'mara and I could focus on the closest targets.

For some reason the one I assumed to be the bandit chief – at least he was the one who wore the highest quality armor – selected me as target, which I did not mind.

"Coming here..." he started.

"...was something I will not regret at all" I continued, mocking him, and brought my greatsword down. His armor stopped it, but he staggered, and I followed up with a shock blast from my left hand. I had known for quite some time that receiving a shock blast in a metal armor can be quite nasty, and this was no exception. The poor guy jittered from the shock he had received, and before he had a chance to recover, I severed his head from the body.

When I turned around, T'mara and our familiars had already disposed of the other bandits, and looking down the path the last three just met our friends. As I had expected, they were no match for Valdimar, Jordis, and Marine – the two experience fighters seemed to play with their adversaries for a few minutes, and Marine went against the third one, who had a bow and tried to get a shot in. The nimble girl attacked him from the side, and while he tried to defend himself with a dagger, Marine was much more agile and soon had her own daggers in his body.

A few minutes later our friends met us at the base of the tower, and we explained that the bandits had tried to lure us in. Marine laughed and said:

"I still have to see intelligent bandits in Skyrim."

"If bandits were intelligent," I replied, "they'd have found a better job, I guess."

We had some discussion on that point, and eventually, once we had rested for some time, searched the tower for loot. To our disappointment, loot was only minor, but the top of the tower offered a nice view on the surrounding area. Looking around slowly, we were able to see the Jeralls to the south, Windhelm to the north, the Throat of the World to the west, and Northwind Summit to the east.

"If we didn't have things to do urgently all of the time," T'mara mused, "Skyrim could be a really nice place."

We enjoyed the view and the place for a couple of hours and made our way back to Ivarstead in late afternoon.

On the next day we walked back towards Whiterun and stayed the night in Riverside Lodge. Jordis stayed here again and Valdimar joined her, so that T'mara and I guided Marine into Whiterun and Jorrvaskr the day after. Marine had confirmed her decision to have a closer look at the Companions, and we were curious about that.

Kodlak, the Companion's Harbinger, was sitting at his usual place downstairs, coincidentally talking to Vilkas like he had when I had introduced T'mara. They both greeted T'mara and me, and I said:

"Kodlak, Vilkas, may I introduce Marine. She has been with us for some time together with her twin cousin Glacier, who currently stays in Winterhold."

Vilkas looked curiously at the young girl, until Marine boldly stated:

"Where do I sign in?"

"Sign in for what?" Vilkas asked, looking surprised.

"Joining you guys, of course; what else?"

"You want to join the Companions? But you are just a girl!"

"So what? Do your statutes claim that only adults can join? Isn't it rather that I am supposed to have a certain strength of spirit, like your Harbinger likes to point out?"

"Your dare to mock our Harbinger?"

"Vilkas, that's not mocking, we are just having some fun here; but maybe I should rather talk to Farkas; he might be smart enough to understand."

Vilkas opened his mouth and closed it again. He was clearly not used to be addressed with so little respect by others, and this must have been the first time somebody assumed his twin brother could understand something he did not.

Suddenly Kodlak started to laugh, and when he had calmed down, he announced:

"Girl, you certainly have spirit, that's for sure. Have you come here with a true heart, and are you also willing to have your sword arm tested?"

"Harbinger, I am willing to undergo a test. Why don't you send Vilkas outside with me and have a look what I can do?"

Kodlak nodded and confirmed: "Giving you a chance is the least we can do. Vilkas, are you feeling up to test her?"

"Aye – with pleasure, Harbinger!"

Quite obviously Vilkas was very much looking forward to teach Marine a lesson, forgetting how T'mara had once given him a hard time by being more nimble than he was. I honestly expected him to be taught a lesson today, but did not say a word.

Outside, in the back yard, Marine received a shortsword, but did not take a shield, while Vilkas had both sword and shield. For a couple of minutes, the two combatants were just moving around slowly, until Vilkas moved forward and brought his sword down; however, Marine had already stepped aside and Vilkas only hit air. He puffed and tried again a few times, with the same result, though. When he just struck his sword forward towards Marine's chest, the nimble girl quickly dived between his legs, and just as Vilkas was pushing forward, she was pushing him strongly in the back so that he fell down. Naturally, Vilkas was about to get up again quickly, but in his heavy armor this process took longer than it should. Looking a little mad, he moved forward again, this time stretching his left hand with the shield out first. Marine was obviously prepared for such a move, stepped to the right, grabbed the shield with her free left hand and pulled while lowering herself to the ground, making Vilkas kind of fly over her, so that he found himself face down on the ground once again. This time, before he could even try to make a move to get up again, Marine was on his back and had somehow managed to twist his sword arm; every time he moved, his arm was twisted a little more until he stopped. Eventually, Vilkas shouted "I yield!" and Marine got up from him.

For some time there was silence in the courtyard, until Kodlak, who had watched together with a few other Companions, finally clapped his hands and said:

"That was something I would not have liked to miss. Young Redguard, tell me honestly, do you think that you would have been able to defeat Vilkas in a real fight?"

Marine pondered that for a moment before she replied:

"Well, probably not. I caught him by surprise, but in a real fight, I'd likely not stand much of a chance."

Kodlak nodded and seemed to be happy about the truthful answer: "Marine, I appreciate your honest assessment. Welcome to the Companions of Whiterun!"

This evening she got introduced to everybody during dinner in the Great Hall in Jorrvaskr, and while a few comments came up about her age, nobody objected any longer when they heard about the testing with Vilkas. Specifically Aela and Ria seemed to be eager to go hunting with Marine as soon as possible, and I got the feeling that she was in good hands here. When we took our leave late in the night to retire for the night in Breezehome, T'mara and I quickly talked to Marine, and she assured us that she'd be happy to stay here for some time. Of course she'd miss her twin cousin, but opportunities to visit would come up.

"So, what's next?" I asked my wife one day later.

"Are you asking what I want to do or what I am probably supposed to do?" she asked back.

"Unfortunately, the latter," I admitted, "but you know that we can always take our time and find some time to relax and enjoy – just tell me where!"

"Okay, next time we get to the area of the hot springs, we need to stay here for a few days!"

"Deal! Getting back to work, though, I think that we wanted to ask Esbern if he knew more about which dragon to call."

"So, going west, stopping at 'Old Hroldan Inn', and getting to the temple it is, right?"

"Yes, I think so."

We easily reached the inn after one day of hiking, and we got 'Tiber Septim's room', as usual. The place also made us recall some fond memories, which caused us to sleep into the next morning, for some additional cuddling in bed.

A few hours after breakfast we got to 'Sky Haven Temple', and after having lunch together with Delphine, Jenassa, and Esbern, we reported on what we had learned.

Esbern mused about that for some time, and finally said:

"Yes, yes. We must think. He must have some means of traveling to and from Sovngarde. But no tale tells where that might be."

"But, with Sovngarde being the place for dead Nords to get to," I objected, "it should not be accessible for visitors, that is for anybody who is still alive, right?"

"Normally yes, but there must be a way. His dragon allies must know where this portal is..." Esbern mused. "Hmm. I wonder, if we can find out which of his allies can be called..."

"Indeed, it won't help much if we can talk the Jarl into assisting us to capture a dragon in Dragonsreach, but we don't know how to call a dragon, or we managed to call one, but it does not know how to get to Alduin."

"There are rumors" Esbern carefully stated "about a kind of lieutenant to Alduin, called Odahviing. If any of the dragons know, it should be that one."

"Do we know how this one could be summoned?"

"You know," Esbern elaborated, "that all dragon names have three syllables like a Dragon Shout? Alduin can be shouted as '_AL DU IN_', and this Odahviing probably like '_OD AH VIING_'. If the Dragonborn manages to shout that properly, it is quite likely that Alduin՚s ally will accept the challenge and appear..."

"I probably should not test this around here, right?" T'mara asked.

"No" Esbern shook his head. "You better wait until you are actually on the balcony of Dragonsreach and the trap is prepared. Good luck for talking with the Jarl!"

Easy for him to say. But anyway, we discussed the topic in more detail with Esbern until deep in the night, and on the next day we traveled back to Whiterun.

_[Author's Notes: Both the Dovahtwin girls have found a place to stay for now; Glacier at the College of Winterhold, and Marine with the Companions. We will meet them again at a later time.]_


	56. Chapter 56 - The Axe of Whiterun

**Chapter 56: The Axe of Whiterun**

_[31__th__ of Sun's Height – 9__th__ of Last Seed 4E 202]_

After spending the night in Breezehome, we went up to Dragonsreach and asked to talk to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater. Once we had exchanged polite greetings and talked a little about what T'mara and I had recently experienced, I bluntly stated:

"We need your help. We need to trap a dragon in your palace."

My good friend, the Jarl, looked up and looked at me oddly: "I must have misheard you. I thought you asked me to help you trap a dragon in my palace."

T'mara confirmed: "And that's exactly what we're asking for, indeed."

"You want me to let a dragon into the heart of my city, with the threat of war on my doorstep?"

"The threat is worse than you know. Alduin has returned."

"Alduin? The World-Eater himself? But... how can we fight him? Doesn't his return mean that the end times are close?"

"Maybe, unless we can stop him. To trap one of his allies to show us the way to get to Alduin seems to be the only option we may have."

The Jarl considered that for some time before he replied: "I read the legends, too, about King Olaf using Dragonsreach to trap a dragon. I want to help you, my Thanes. And I will. But I need your help first. Ulfric and General Tullius are both just waiting for me to make a wrong move. Do you think they will sit idle while a dragon is slaughtering my men and burning my city?"

We did not have an answer for him, and eventually he mused:

"General Tullius will probably accept for Whiterun to stay neutral in the war, but I doubt Jarl Ulfric will. But maybe if I sent him my axe, he will remember our friendship and agree to a truce at least. My Thanes, may I suggest that you take my axe to Windhelm and deliver it to Jarl Ulfric."

"An axe? What is that good for, my Jarl?"

"How long have you been in Skyrim? Give the man my axe. If he returns it to you it means we have business to settle. If he keeps it, then we are at peace."

Obviously this was a tradition I had not yet been introduced to.

"Should I say anything to him?"

"Men who understand one another need not waste words. There are but a few simple truths behind one warrior giving another his axe. Ulfric will know my meaning. However, if you have a few good points to make, feel free to talk to him, if it helps our cause. If he keeps my axe, I will help with you to trap a dragon here!"

Well, this was an option, at least, and T'mara and I both promised that we'd do our best, not only for us, but also for the benefit of the Hold of Whiterun. If Ulfric actually decided to attack Whiterun, and from a strategic point of view the hold was the likely primary target, many lives would be lost, on both sides.

Once we had left the Jarl՚s residence, we slowly stepped down towards the city again. I looked at my wife and tentatively suggested:

"You know, it's still early in the morning. If we leave right away, we should be able to make it to the Hot Spring area and stay there for a few days before we continue towards Windhelm. What do you think?"

As I had expected, T'mara liked that idea a lot, and once we had gathered our important belongings in Breezehome, we were on our way. We had liked the way we had passed 'Valtheim Towers' some time ago, simply running by, and we did the same again today, just ignoring the bandits who occupied the place. Today, though, we stopped running when we had just passed the place and took our time to enjoy the scenery. After all, it was summer in Skyrim, and walking around could be quite nice at times, once you ignored all the dangers around of course.

As Vilja, with whom I had traveled for a few weeks two or three years ago, showing her the way to 'Eldergleam Sanctuary' and helping her with the gathering of some special ingredients, used to say:

"You know, most things you do not know in Skyrim will eventually try to kill you. On the other hand, a lot of things you do know will want to kill you, too."

I was not sure if I recalled her phrasing properly, but she got a point. Wolves and bears and saber cats and such were always around to attack unsuspecting travelers, but occasionally one encountered the unknown, which most of the time turned out to be dangerous, too.

Our live was a little bit easier, as we had Bran and Pammy and Edric around us scouting for danger, so that T'mara and I could walk hand in hand safely, without watching out constantly. Before reaching 'Fort Amol', we turned left towards 'Mixwater Mill'. We stopped there to chat with the owner, Gilfred, and helped her to chop some wood. Once we were done and sweating a little, we cooled ourselves off by jumping into the river behind the mill and crossed to the other side; over there, we were right on the edge of the Hot Springs area, and we decided to spend a night in 'Eldergleam Sanctuary' before heading towards our favorite pond. As always, we were welcomed in the Gleam, and we found a nice and comfy spot for our bedroll.

Soon after breakfast on the next day, though, we left the beauty of 'Eldergleam Sanctuary' and walked towards out favorite spot at a pond. Same as last time, nobody else was close, and once we had asked Bran and Pammy to stay around, we removed our clothes and stepped into the nice pond, which had just the perfect water temperature for us.

Over the next few hours, we alternated between making out, stroking each other's back and just relaxing, and I fully agreed that this was one of the best places to be in Skyrim. When we got hungry in early afternoon, Pammy kindly caught a fat rabbit for us, so that I got out, started a fire, and roasted the rabbit, while also adding a few potatoes and leeks into a small pot. When the meal was done, I took the liberty of bringing a plate over to my wife who still was in the pond. She had her eyes almost closed and purred:

"It really doesn't get any better than this. A hot pond with just the perfect water temperature, and a loving husband feeding me. What else do I need? Let's Alduin do what he wants to do and stay here for the rest of our lives!"

Once we had eaten, a bear approached and got interested in us, but Pammy was on guard and drove the animal off quickly. Once the sun got lower, we both got out, and I used my low power fire blast spell to dry us off. The next day was spent about the same way, and at the end of the third day T'mara finally admitted:

"That was absolutely great! But now, I've got to admit, I am ready to move on. Let's go to Windhelm tomorrow, shall we?"

Move on we did, and the next morning found us happily marching towards the road, which we followed up north. Rather than passing Kynesgrove, we decided to stop there for lunch, and to get properly hungry, helped to chop firewood at the mine and assisted to get some ore out from the mine. Helping citizens a little with their daily chores did not bother us, and we always welcomed the opportunity to chat and learn and make ourselves useful.

After lunch, me moved on to the hold capital Windhelm. We had been here before, and this was at least one of the few settlements in Skyrim which was really a city, with big walls and all. However, before we got on the bridge towards the city, T'mara asked that we explored a little towards the east:

"There seems to be a farm over there. Let's have a look and talk to some more people first before we enter the city."

That was all right for me, and we found not only one farm, but three – Brandy-Mug Farm, Hlaalu Farm, and Hollyfrost Farm. All farmers were busy tending their small fields, and on all farms we helped with the harvest for half an hour or so. The owner of the first farm, a female Nord called Bolfrida Brandy-Mug, welcomed us with open arms:

"Welcome, welcome, welcome! Don't see many strangers out here. Come to get your hands dirty on a real farm?"

And once we had helped with the harvest a little, we were told with a smile:

"The weather's harsh, but I like to think my sunny personality is what helps the grain grow."

T'mara looked at her and asked:

"But surely it is hard to grow crops here in what must be partially permafrost soil?"

Bolfrida replied: "It sure is. Faryl, who works for me, tries to convince me that we need warming enchantments, but I actually favor to plow the soil with fire salts. Salting the ground, though, may not be a good idea, so maybe he's right after all."

When we had moved on to the other farms and spent some time there, we were eventually getting tired and saw the sun going down, so that we went into the city and got ourselves a room at the inn, Candlehearth Hall. Before going to bed we decided to go for a quick walk to relax, just for a few minutes, and we turned west, towards the graveyard. To our surprise, though, it was not deserted as we had expected, but there was even a small crowd of people, including a guard. Looking ahead, we saw a dead body on the ground. Naturally, this raised our curiosity, and we tried to step closer. The guard intervened, though, holding up his hand:

"Hold it there. Keep your distance!"

"What happened here, if I may ask?" I inquired politely.

"Another girl was killed. This is Susanna, from Candlehearth Hall. Served me a drink just a few nights ago... but I can't say I knew her. Susanna's the third. It's always the same: a young girl, killed at night, body torn up."

I also recalled that we had been served by Susanna during our last stop in Windhelm; but the third victim already? That was horrible!

"The murders are being investigated, right?"

The guard shrugged his shoulders: "Look, we do what we can, but we're stretched thin as it is with the war. We barely have enough soldiers to walk the streets, much less patrol every corner."

Of course, the war again. I really hoped that we could achieve at least a truce between Whiterun and Windhelm. It wouldn't do for Skyrim to waste resources and lives for a civil war.

I looked at my wife to check if she'd agree, and when she nodded, I addressed the guard again and offered: "Could you use some help?"

"If you want to help, ask some of these gawkers if they saw anything useful. I'm going to examine the body before the rats can get to it."

Well, we could ask a few questions, if the guard could not be bothered to do this, sure.

Calixto Corrium, one of the witnesses, told us that he had seen somebody running away, but had not seen who it was. Before we turned to the next witness, he suggested:

"If you've got some time, stop by the House of Curiosities. I promise you'll see wonders!"

Silda, the beggar, who was also here, told my wife:

"Another one. Terrible."

"Did you see what happened here?"

"I heard a scream and came running, but she was already on the ground, like this... when I got here."

We gave her a few coins, and she slowly walked to the next fire to warm her hands again. It was summer in Skyrim, but here, confined by the huge and cold city walls, the nights were always chilly at best.

Helgird, the third witness, reported:

"This is a shame."

"Did you see what happened here?"

"Ahm… no. Sorry. But I did notice that her coinpurse was still intact, so whoever did this wasn't after gold. I'm going to keep prepared the body, if you'll excuse me."

Well, not a lot of information. Looking at the corpse itself, we found all clothes being taken, but the coinpurse and a few gems and lockpicks left close to it. Strange, indeed.

Getting back to the guard, we informed him:

"We've spoken to the three witnesses, but nobody has seen the murderer clearly."

"Just like always – nobody saw anything useful. The bastard's escaped again."

"There might be more to this if you'll let us help further."

"Look, friends, if you think you can do better than the legion of guards, be my guest. You'll need to talk to Jorleif, the Jarl՚s steward, though. We can't just let anyone go around claiming to be on official business. If he's willing, then we'll talk."

That was fair, I guess. They couldn't really let anyone who wanted to be part of a murder investigation. We thanked the guard for his kindness and went back to the inn, to finally get into bed.

As our curiosity was raised – T'mara had heard that it had been the third girl and was determined to do something – we first went up to the palace after breakfast on the next day. We easily found the steward and talked to him:

"We've heard about these murders, and we are willing to help with the investigation, if that's all right."

"These are difficult times indeed, when men stalk their brethren like beasts. My men are stretched thin as it is. If you offer your aid, I gladly accept. The guards will be told to assist you as necessary. I'm happy to lend my hand as much as I can, as well."

Well, that was easier than I had expected. I mean, the man did not really know us, and he trusted us with the investigation just like that? Anyway, we walked back to the graveyard and informed the guard there:

"Jorleif has granted us permission to aid in the investigation."

"All right, then. I noticed a trail of blood away from here, and somebody should see where it leads to. Helgird has taken the body into the Hall of the Dead to prepare for burial. She's a little crazy, but if she known anything, it's dead bodies; maybe she's found a clue by now."

I looked at my wife and said: "Looks like we have two things to do – talk to Helgird in the Hall of the Dead and follow the trail of blood. Maybe we can split up and do both at the same time?"

"Okay, why not" she replied. "If it's okay, I'll talk to Helgird."

I agreed and had a closer look at the drops of blood. There was indeed some kind of trail, but hard to follow in some spots. After some attempts I noticed that it lead north, and after several turns it seemed to end at the doorstep to a house I did not know. I knocked, but it was locked and nobody answered the door. When a guard passed by, I asked:

"Which house is this, and how can I get in?"

"This is Friga Shatter-Shield's old place, Hjerim. It's been abandoned ever since she was killed. I think her mother, Tova, has the key."

I looked concerned: "So Friga Shatter-Shiled was one of the earlier victims?"

The guard nodded: "Yes, she was."

The guard told me where I could find Tova, and I approached her, knowing that I needed to be careful to not hurt her feelings too much:

"I have some questions about your daughter, if that's all right."

"I'm sorry – she was very dear to me, and it's rather painful to think about. I'd rather not talk about my daughter, if you'll excuse me."

"I'm trying to find out who did this. I was hoping you might help."

"Well... all right. What exactly do you need to know?"

"A blood trail leads to her house, and I'd like to investigate further, but I'll need the key."

"Hjerim? Well, I'm not sure what you think you'll find there," she told me while handing me a key, "but you're welcome to have a look."

"I'm sorry to have troubled you. Good day."

Before looking into the house, I went back to the graveyard, and T'mara just came out from the Hall of the Dead again. She told me that people suspected a person called 'The Butcher' to be responsible for the murders, and apparently he always used a special carved knife, based on the wounds Helgird had found on the dead bodies.

Together we went up to Hjerim and used the key to unlock and open the door. The house indeed seemed to be abandoned, but something did not look right, and there was an odd smell lingering in the air. Looking closer, T'mara pointed out:

"Look, there is more blood on the floor over there!"

Looking around, we soon noticed a bloody chest next to a wall. T'mara said:

"Judged by all of the blood, one could think the 'The Butcher' was here."

The chest provided a number of pamphlets 'Beware the Butcher!' written by some Viola Giordano and a journal which outlined some of the murderer's activities, and it mentioned almost getting Susanna; maybe there was a second part around somewhere, and we started to search.

There was not much furniture in the house, but at first we could not see any other hints. Eventually T'mara noticed a few more blood drops close to a corner which had two wardrobes, so that we looked into those. One of them was empty, and the other one turned out to have a false back panel. When we managed to open it, a small hidden room was revealed with more blood, bones, embalming tools, a strange amulet, and another journal. This one almost read like a Necromancer's recipe.

At this point we decided to not expose ourselves to the horrible smell for longer than absolutely required and rather confront the steward with our evidence and ask for guidance. Thus we quickly left the small chamber, replaced the false back panel in the wardrobe, and made our way to the palace again. Jorleif looked at what we had found, and he suggested that we talk to the court wizard, Wuunferth the Unliving, whom we should find in his rooms at the upper level of the palace. The guards let us pass, and we started talking to Wuunferth once we had fond him. Just to see his reaction I opted for an accusation first:

"I found your journals and amulet where the Butcher worked. There are clear signs of necromancy, we believe."

"My what, now? I've never kept a journal, I can assure you. But tell, what exactly did this amulet look like?"

"Eight-sided. Jade, ringed with ebony. A worn carving." I got out the amulet and showed it to him.

"Yes, I know it well" Wuunferth replied slowly. "Or at least, I've heard of it. I would wager that carving once depicted a skull. That is the Necromancer's Amulet, of legend. It appears you were at least half-right; there is necromancy at the heart of this."

"So what can we do now?"

"I've been noting a pattern to when the killings happen. Now that we know they're tied in to some sort of necromantic ritual, I think I know when the next might occur. Let's see. From a Loredas of Sun's Height until a Middas of Last Seed... it will happen soon. Very soon, I am sure. Keep watch in the Stone Quarter tonight. That's almost certainly where the killer will strike next."

We spent the afternoon with some shopping and browsing the marketplace, and once we've had dinner at the inn, we started patrolling in the area the court wizard had suggested, using our sneaking skills to not warn the murderer. The Stone Quarter was very quiet at night, and occasionally a guard passed. After some time a woman strolled along on her own, and soon we noticed a crouched figure approaching her from behind. When this person drew a knife, we intervened and soon held Calixto on the ground. The woman who had almost been attacked squealed for a moment when she noticed that the butcher had been directly behind her, but calmed down quickly and introduced herself as Arivanya.

While I held the suspect down, T'mara got the next guard, and the guy was arrested. Before we he was carried off to the dungeons, we searched his body, and the guard, who knew that we had Jorleif's permission to investigate, suggested that we search his house for further evidence, using the key we had taken.

In Calixto's museum, which was now abandoned, we found another journal, which told about the death of his sister and his attempt to bring her back to life via some kind of necromantic ritual. We brought this to the palace on the next day, and Jorleif appreciated our effort to support the case. He offered to sell the house Hjerim to us, and we accepted and paid the price.

The steward alerted Jarl Ulfric to the news, and Ulfric Stormcloak recognized us from our last visit. When he heard about our help with the murder investigation, he said:

"I'd like to offer you both of a place in my court, as a Thane. It's mainly an honorary title, but there are a few perks. Now, by law and tradition, I can only grant this title to one who is known throughout Eastmarch, and who owns property in Windhelm. As you have purchased Hjerim and Jorleif tells me about your assistance to many of the hold's citizens, including the resolution to the murders, by my right as Jarl, I name you Thanes of Eastmarch. Congratulations. I'd offer you a housecarl, but all of my able warriors are needed for the Civil War, I am afraid. I'll also notify my guards of your new title."

That was all right for us – we did not exactly need another housecarl for now.

I used the opportunity and mentioned: "My Jarl, if you can spare a few minutes, we'd like to talk to you about some business that Jarl of Whiterun asked us to convey."

Ulfric nodded: "Of course, please proceed."

I got the Whiterun axe out of my back pack and handed it over.

"Oh. What's this? Ahhh... You're quite brave to carry such a message. It's a pity you've chosen the wrong side, though."

"My Jarl, we have not really chosen a side. If given a choice, we'd want to stay neutral in this war. You see, on one hand the Imperials represent the legitimate government and are crucial to uphold peace and the 'White-Gold Concordat'. Without that, we might be at war with the Thalmor sooner than we like. On the other hand, we also pray to Talos, and your drive to reestablish that is laudable. But we do not really agree with the idea 'Skyrim to the Nords'. As you can see, my wife is a Khajiit, and I believe that she has a rightful place here in this country as well."

Ulfric did not like to hear all what I said, but I got him thinking at least. I continued:

"Further, Whiterun hold has been my home since I arrived in Skyrim. If anybody dared to attack Whiterun, we would help defend it. Sir, while I understand your cause for the war, you cannot really hope to defeat the entire Empire and the Thalmor on your own!"

Ulfric looked down and replied: "Son, although I don't like it at all, you may be right. So you would really defend Whiterun even against me?"

"Yes, we would. We have both been Thanes of Whiterun long before being Thanes of Windhelm, and we owe our loyalty to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater. I'd rather see you coming to Whiterun as friend, discussing options to confront the Thalmor together."

Ulfric was clearly thinking now, and I gave him something else to consider:

"Just imagine for a moment that the Dragonborn and I would not stand in our way or even support you, and you somehow managed to defeat General Tullius, and the Moot elected you as High King of Skyrim. What would the Emperor do, you think? Could he afford to just send his congratulations and allow you to set your own laws for Skyrim, including legal Talos worship? You know as well as we do that this violates the 'White-Gold Concordat', and if the Emperor tolerated that, the Thalmor might take this as an excuse for declaring war again. Are you strong enough to withstand a focused Aldmeri attack?"

"Let me think about that for some time, please."

We left the Jarl to think and may to consult with his advisors. T'mara looked up at me and asked:

"Do you think that he will come around?"

"I sure hope so, my love!"

Thus we spent another couple of days in the city and met more citizens, before we returned to the Palace. Ulfric was ready to meet us, and he said:

"What you two have said has some merit. I am not fully convinced yet that my fight is useless, but I will not attack a neighbor hold without provocation. Please tell Jarl Balgruuf that I am keeping his axe, and that there shall be peace between our holds. Would you be available to bring a message to General Tullius at some later time to talk about the future, once I have pondered the situation more?"

"My Jarl, it will be an honor to report back to Jarl Balgruuf and to convey a message to general Tullius later. Thank you for listening to us!"

When we had left the palace, we hurried back to Whiterun on the shortest roads, without stopping at the hot springs, and once there reported back to Jarl Balgruuf. When he had heard our report, he smiled and told us:

"You have returned without my axe, which means that Jarl Ulfric kept it. This means peace between us, and there is no need to have additional troops stationed in my hold. I am grateful for your services to achieve this, my Thanes. We will make preparations to reactivate the trap up on the balcony, and in a few days we will be ready to spring the trap."

_[Author's Notes: I wish that the game had an option for a nice diplomatic approach and to make peace between Tullius and Stormcloak like this, rather than just a temporary truce via a conference at High Hrothgar.]_


	57. Chapter 57 - Skuldafn

**Chapter 57: Skuldafn - Portal to Sovngarde**

_[10__th__ – 17__th__ of Last Seed 4E 202]_

While we made our own preparations and spent some time in our cozy home in the city, Breezehome, T'mara mused:

"What do you think we will learn from Odahviing?"

"Hopefully a way to get to Sovngarde without dying, or maybe a way to lure Alduin back to Skyrim for another fight."

"Get to Sovngarde without actually dying? What exactly is this place?"

I had to remind myself that T'mara, being a Khajiit, might not be fully familiar with the Nordic legend of Sovngarde. We had talked about that recently in 'Sky Haven Temple', but obviously I needed to explain more:

"Sovngarde is what the Nords call the place of their afterlife, where they go once they die. Those who have been valiant in their life are rewarded with an eternity in Sovngarde, in a place they call the 'Hall of Valor'. According to the Nordic belief, in there they can eat and drink for eternity, and knowing the Nordic way of life, this probably also includes singing, brawling, and other kind of fun."

My wife looked at me and asked: "Do you believe in that, too?"

I shook my head: "No, not really. I am a Nord, but somehow I can't believe this is where I will spend my life after death. I hope that Akatosh has other plans with me. Also, according to what is said, only Nords can go there, and I have no ambition whatsoever to go to a place without you, before death or after."

This earned me a tight hug and a hot kiss, and T'mara asked further:

"But still, is this a place where one can go while still being alive?"

"I do not know, my dear. Normally I would say no, but maybe there is a special way only Alduin knows or has access to. If we are lucky, we will find out."

Later on during that day Jordis came to the city for some shopping, and when we met her, we used the opportunity to tell her about our intentions. If everything went according to plan, we might be off for an indefinite time starting in a few days, and we did not know if or when we would return. I suggested to wait at least a month before giving up on us, although I hoped that we might be done in a week or less.

We visited Jorrvaskr, and Marine proudly told us that she had been officially accepted as full member. She had been taken on her initiation quest together with Farkas, similar to T'mara՚s quest last year, and they had succeeded to defeat some Silver Hand and bring back another fragment of Wuuthrad. Farkas told me that she had behaved properly and fought admirably, and that he had been happy and proud to have her at his side. Well, it looked like Marine had found her place here in Skyrim, and I hoped that her twin cousin Glacier did as well in Winterhold.

When Marine heard that we were soon going to call and trap a dragon, she insisted to be a witness of that, and we promised to pick her up in time for that.

A couple of days later, when we got word from the Jarl in the morning, we slowly made our way into the upper sections of the city, picked up Marine in Jorrvaskr, and entered Dragonsreach. Up on the large balcony, guards were posted all around, but mostly hidden. The Jarl was in the background, guarded by Irileth and clad in full armor today, and he nodded in our direction.

T'mara stepped forward and shouted '_OD AH VIING_!'. The shout echoed back from the mountain peaks, but for several minutes nothing happened, and several guards started to mumble something abut the shout not working. However, suddenly a loud roar could be heard, and a big black dragon swooped down towards Dragonsreach.

One guard shouted: "Shor՚s bones, here he comes!"

The dragon shouted down to us: "Dovahkiin! Here I am!"

Jarl Balgruuf the Greater cautioned his guards: "Steady! Steady, now! Keep under cover until it is down!"

Odahviing started to attack T'mara, but she was nimble enough to escape most of his fire blasts, while she baited the dragon with some frostcloud blasts. Once the beast was close enough, T'mara shouted '_JOOR ZAH FRUL_', Dragonrend, and her timing turned out to be perfect – Odahviing crashed right on the balcony. Apparently, he was quite upset about this and tried to catch my wife, and thus she managed to lure him backwards, right into the trap. The guards and I attacked with bolts and arrows to maintain the charade, and when the dragon was in the right position, I shouted 'Now!' towards the guards controlling the trap. The huge wooden beam crashed down, and Odahviing was trapped.

Jarl Balgruuf the Greater raised his hand and called out: "Got him!"

Odahviing shouted: "Nid! Horvutah med kodaav. Caught like a bear in a trap... Zok frini grind ko grah drun viiki, Dovahkiin. Ah. I forget. You do not have the dovah speech. My... eagerness to meet you in battle was my... undoing, Dovahkiin. I salute your, hmm, low cunning in devising such a grahmindol – strategem."

When he had calmed down, we tried to ask our questions, and T'mara asked about Alduin.

"One reason I came to your call was to test your Thu'um myself" Odahviing first explained. "Many of us have begun to question Alduin՚s lordship, whether his Thu'um was truly the strongest. Among ourselves, of course. Mu ni meyye. None were yet ready to openly defy him. Unslaad krosis. Innumerable pardons. I digress."

"Alduin has traveled to Sovngarde to regain his strength, devouring the sillesejour... the souls of the mortal dead. A privilege he jealously guards. His door to Sovngarde is at Skuldafn, one of his ancient fanes high in the eastern mountains."

After a short break Odahviing asked:

"Zu'u lost ofan hin laan... now that I have answered your question, you will allow me to go free?"

We explained that we needed to learn more, specifically how to get there. The dragon kind of chuckled and told us:

"Hmm... krosis. There is one detail about Skuldafn I neglected to mention. Only this. You have the Thu'um of a dovah, but without the wings of one, you will never set foot in Skuldafn. Of course, I could fly you there. But not while imprisoned like this."

My wife and I looked at each other, and I told the dragon: "How can we know we can trust you? You could just fly away when we release you..."

"Indeed. Orin brit ro. I cannot leave here until you defeat Alduin, which you cannot do without my help. Zu'u ni tahrodiis. It was you that lured me here and took me prisoner... vobalaan grahmindol. I have done nothing to earn your distrust."

"You will release me – ro laan – if in return I promise to take you to Skuldafn and stop helping Alduin?"

We both nodded and confirmed: "Yes, that is our plan. Carry both of us to Skuldafn, and you have more than earned your release."

The dragon nodded: "Onikaan koraav gein miraad. It is wise to recognize when you only have one choice. And you can trust me. Zu'u ni tahrodiis. Alduin has proven himself unworthy to rule. Free me, and I will carry you to Skuldafn."

T'mara and I had already prepared for the event, and we had our packs ready and our armors and weapon properly maintained. We took our leave from the guards and the Jarl, hugged Marine and turned towards the dragon, when suddenly Farengar, the Whiterun court wizard, came running our to the balcony. He admired and addressed the trapped dragon:

"Incredible! Uh... sir, you have no idea how long I have waited for such an opportunity! I would be most appreciative if you would permit me to perform some, ah, tests on you. Purely in the interests of the advancement of knowledge."

Odahviing did not agree: "Begone, mage. Do not test my promise to the Dovahkiin."

I also told Farengar that we were about to leave, and he was not allowed to touch the dragon.

Farengar did not give up that easily: "Surely he won't miss a few scales... or a small amount of blood..."

Jarl Balgruuf the Greater now intervened: "Farengar! Enough, fool! Get back into the keep!"

We ordered the guards to open the trap again, but there was some hesitation:

"Get ready to open the trap? This seems like a really bad idea to me."

The Jarl confirmed our order, though: "Carry on, soldier. This is all part of the Dragonborn՚s plan."

Irileth commented: "By all the gods! You՚re either very brave or big fools to do this!"

The Jarl called out his final wishes when we climbed on the dragon's back: "May Kynareth guard you while you pass through her realm!"

The ride was exhilarating, and we both enjoyed it immensely. Odahviing flew quickly, and while it was difficult to find markings through the partial cloud cover, I thought that he was going towards the mountain range separating Skyrim from Morrowind. After only two or there hours, I was not sure about the flow of time, he slowed down and landed in the middle of the mountains, in an area which would indeed be difficult to reach otherwise. We got down from his back, gave him our thanks, and he took his leave from us with the words:

"This is as far as I can take you. Krif voth ahkrin. I will look for your return, or Alduin՚s."

Well, that was fair, I guessed, and we were on our own now. Looking around, we were on a small platform with some flowers, and a stone walkway lead forward towards a large castle or temple area. At the moment no enemies were visible, but we expected this to change soon. If this was indeed the access point to Sovngarde, it was guarded properly for sure.

I asked my wife: "Do you think this calls for a brute force approach or rather a slow and sneaky one?"

She pondered that for a few seconds and replied: "As we do not know how many enemies we will encounter, the slow and sneaky approach is what I'd prefer. What about getting Edric in the air and have him doing some scouting first?"

I nodded, and T'mara conjured Edric, while I did the same with Pammy. Bran had been left in Whiterun, and Marine had volunteered to take care of him. The two of them wanted to visit Mila and her husky 'Rosie' a few times, too, and this was alright for us.

Edric, T'mara՚s familiar, climbed into the air, and when he was high enough, turned towards the main temple area. Only minutes after he had started circling, a dragon noticed that something had changed and came closer to investigate. We got our weapons ready, and as soon as the beast was in range, shot our bolts and arrows. We were attacked with frost clouds and thus switched to fire attacks right away; T'mara used her '_YOL TOOR SHUL_' with perfect timing, and the beast crashed onto the ground. Pammy and Edric assisted in attacking the dragon further, and although it made it up into the air once more, we got it down again, and a simultaneous fire blast attack killed it off. Once T'mara had absorbed the dragon's soul, we looked around again, and now we could see a few distant figures on some of the temple walls.

"Looks like draugr" my wife told me.

Fortunately, the draugr were not altogether in a group, but spread over the entire temple grounds, so that sneaking up to them individually might work. I even judged some of them to be within crossbow range from where I was standing, so that I released a few bolts, and at least I managed to injure some of the enemies before they got out of range. Once we carefully moved ahead and crossed the bridge in front of us, we were able to eliminate two more draugr further ahead, before they had a chance to notice us. To our right we noticed stairs leading down to the pond, but there seemed to be nothing of interest down there, so that we proceeded ahead and entered a larger courtyard, flanked by two towers.

"Shall we check out the towers first?" T'mara asked.

"Not sure," I replied, "but I do not think that the way forward can be found in them. Let's first look at the main area."

After eliminating more draugr and slowly making our way upwards and ahead, we finally found a door inside the main temple complex, which lead us to a large chamber with more draugr in it. Pammy helped to take care of them and we investigated the room. Close to the place where the draugr had waited, there was one of those Nordic puzzles, with three pillars, offering the settings of 'Whale', 'Snake', and 'Eagle'. The outer stones were easy to set and could be matched to the references close by, but we were confused by the center pillar.

"I don't know, T'mara" I said. "There are three possible settings for the center stone, and two possible references over each of the gates over there at the end of the room. Which one is going to be right?"

"Maybe one for each of the gates?" my smart wife mused.

We found out that she was right, and two different combinations opened both gates in sequence. One of them did not help much, as the way was soon blocked by a cave-in, but the other one offered a path forward, which we took. Moving forward, we encountered more draugr, and most of them were not the simple and weak ones, which were designated 'draugr overlord' and 'draugr deathlord' by experts of undead creatures; quite a few of them also had the ability to Shout, so that we tried to be careful and engage them one by one, as much as we could.

When we found a quiet room at the end of a side passage, we decided to call it a day and get to sleep. Fortunately, we had Pammy to stand guard.

Well rested on the next morning, we shared breakfast and moved on, and the fighting did not get easier. A couple of times we found ourselves on some kind of balcony, with a view on a larger area below, and shooting down blasts of fire helped to wake up sleeping enemies and engaging them from a distance. I needed to be careful, though, as some of the powerful draugr knew how to use a special Shout which caused their enemies to drop their weapons. When I had been hit by that first, I was just about to fire my crossbow, when it was suddenly torn from my hands and dropped to the ground. Later on, I could just barely catch it before it dropped to a lower room, but further on I was mostly quick enough to step back and hide before such as Shout hit me.

After several such rooms and a cave section with frostbite spiders we encountered a second Nordic puzzle. Once we had cleared the room from the draugr and skeletons in it, we looked around to see what we got.

"Okay," T'mara stated, "we've got three pillars again, and all three of them can be set to 'Whale' or 'Eagle' or 'Snake' again, same as the last one."

In this room, the clues were at different locations and partially hidden, and it took us about half an hour to locate all of them, until we were finally to set the proper code of Whale – Snake – Eagle. A wooden bridge, which had been raised, started to creak and finally dropped down, allowing us access further into the temple area.

Naturally, the second part wasn't going to be easier than the first one. A few rooms and draugr later we ran into a nasty trap. A very carefully hidden pressure plate I had missed and stepped on clicked and made a lantern drop onto the oil covered floor, and just as I was about to jump back a series of darts whizzed around me; while two of them got stuck in my armor, one got through my skin. Naturally, the dart was poisoned, and I started to feel weak. However, as the fire on the ground prevented the next group of draugr to get to us, T'mara got enough time to pull me back, heal the burns on my arms and face, and feed me a 'Cure Poison' drink. As soon as the fire was down again and the next draugr approached, Pammy attacked the undead, supported by arrows released by my wife. They repeated the process a couple of times, and eventually I had recovered enough to be able to proceed again.

A few more traps and rooms and draugr later, we stepped into a larger hall, and we noticed one draugr close to the center and another one on a balcony. The one on the balcony was a weaker one and succumbed to my first bolt, but when the other one turned towards us, we found ourselves facing a dragon priest. Firing arrows and bolts, we slowly retreated, and when the enemy finally passed the door, T'mara shouted her '_YOL TOOR SHUL_' right in his face. While this was not quite enough to kill the undead off, it caused sufficient distraction for me to get close and attack with a fire blast from my left hand and my greatsword in my right, and that was it.

My wife looked at me and proudly said: "I am always impressed when I see you wielding that big greatsword with one hand rather than the usual two."

I nodded and smiled at her: "Indeed, that is quite useful, as it allows me to cast a spell with my left hand while attacking with the blade."

She rephrased her question with a smile: "Timotheus, tell me, why do you have such strong hands?"

I continued the thought: "So that I can better wield my greatsword."

"And why do you have such big ears?"

"So that I can better hear my enemies."

"And why do you have such a big mouth?"

"So that I can better kiss my lovely wife."

Of course, with her snout, her own mouth was really bigger than mine, including her tongue, which was significantly longer than mine, which I came to enjoy when we engaged into the aforementioned activity, I freely admitted to myself.

"And why do you have such a big..." she did not continue her sentence, but looked down at my hip area, with a weird smile showing on her pretty face.

"So that I can better please my wife!" I replied and jumped on her, pulling her in a tight hug and kissing her madly.

Once we'd had our fun, we checked the draugr for loot. The dragon priest had a 'diamond claw' in a pocket, and indeed, there was one of those special doors we had already encountered in Bleak Falls Barrow at the end of the room. T'mara had taken the claw and recalled how to operate the door. The claw had three tiny symbols engrave in it - 'Fox', 'Moth', 'Dragon', and she turned the three rings to match those symbols. Once the rings had aligned, she moved the claw into the lock and, with loud rumbling, the massive stone door opened up by moving down into the ground.

A short passage showed and soon opened up into a larger room with two thrones, one on each side. To our surprise there were no draugr here, but T'mara vanished into one of the adjacent rooms for a few minutes, and when she came back she reported that she had found another word wall and learned '_STRUN_' - the first word of the 'Storm Call' Shout. The area did not reveal any more secrets and we found a big door leading outside again.

Stepping out, we found ourselves in the same large temple area as before, just a couple of levels higher. Looking down we noticed that there was no way to climb up here, so that the detour through the interior temple was apparently required. A few draugr posted nearby had noticed us, though, and so we needed to defeat them first before looking around more. We found a large set of stone stairs leading further up, and on the top there was a platform with some magical flame area on some kind of altar in the center, guarded by what looked like a dragon priest. Two dragons were sleeping on high pillars on the sides; as we had cautiously sneaked up the stairs, none of them had noticed us yet.

I conjured Pammy again and sent a poisoned bolt towards the dragon priest. Once he was hit, Pammy attacked and distracted him, which enabled me to send more bolts, and T'mara experimented with different spells. When the dragon priest raised his arms to send a spell towards us, T'mara staggered him with '_FUS RO DAH_', and I used the opportunity to attack with my greatsword in the right hand and a shock spell in the left, still assisted by Pammy. My wife now sent more arrows, and eventually the enemy succumbed and was down. To our surprise, the two dragons had not woken up.

We were able to loot the mask and an odd staff from the dead dragon priest, and we carefully looked around for any hints.

"The flames above the altar almost look like some kind of portal" T'mara mused, once we had rested for a few minutes. "However, before we have a closer look at that," she continued while looking at me with her very special smile, "there is something very important to consider."

"What might that be, my dear?" I asked.

"Do you recall what the date is today?"

"Well, I think it's the middle of the month of Last Seed, the 17th I believe."

"Indeed it is – and do you remember what happened a year ago?"

"Wait – a year ago in Last Seed is when you were in Helgen, right?"

"Not only that, but exactly on the 17th of Last Seed last year we met for the first time!"

"Wow – it has been a year already!"

"Yes, and although we are here far away from home, this calls for a little celebration at least."

"Right here?"

"Of course right here, my love. We have a great view around, and we don't know what awaits us once we activate the portal!"

T'mara got a blanket from the backpack and set some lunch in front of us, and we indulged for a few minutes. After eating, she placed herself on my lap for an extended and very hot make out session, and only a couple of hours later or so she meowed that she was ready to proceed now.

Naturally, I would not have remembered that date on my own, but I was happy that my wife had.

Once we had everything packed up again, I looked at the staff we had taken from the dragon priest and tentatively pointed it towards the altar, and indeed, a big portal opened up, beckoning us.

"Is that it?" my wife asked.

"I do not know, but maybe Sovngarde awaits us" I replied.

_[Author's Notes: I know that followers cannot go with the Dragonborn into Skuldafn in the game, but when playing I usually summon Vilja once I have arrived. In this story, I simply don't want T'mara to have to do all of this on her own. The list of questions about big ears, big mouth and such is an allusion to the fairy tale 'Little Red Riding Hood', a translation of the German fairy tale 'Rotkäppchen'._

_Please write a quick review if you like it!]_


	58. Chapter 58 - Sovngarde awaits

**Chapter 58: Sovngarde awaits**

_[17__th__ – 27__th__ of Last Seed 4E 202]_

Once the portal had opened up on top of the Skuldafn temple area, I took my wife's hand and we jumped into it. After feeling dizzy for a few seconds, we found ourselves on a stone platform overlooking a valley, or more precisely, overlooking a valley of mist. We could see mountain peaks all around, but all lower ground was covered by dense mist.

"So, is this Sovngarde now?" T'mara asked.

"I do not know," I replied, "let's go and find out!"

In the far distance a hill with some large building on it stood out from the mist, and I assumed that this might be our target. Slowly we stepped down the stairs, which were lined with statues of warriors, all of them Nords. To the sides were some flowers, mostly mountain flower and tundra cotton, but no animals. Close to the bottom of the stairs, a narrow winding path started, but due to the dense mist we could not see where it lead to.

We hesitated to move on, and while we looked at the mist, a warrior stepped out and approached us. The man looked like a Stormcloak soldier and was armored like one, and he called out to us:

"Turn back, traveler! Terror waits within this mist!"

"Who are you, if I may ask?" I inquired politely.

"Near 'Giant's Gap', in the gloom before dawn, we marched, unsuspecting into the Imperials' trap. Then we stood and fought, our shield-wall defending until by dawn's light the Legion's ranks wavered. But I never knew if nights-end brought victory – a swift-flying arrow to Sovngarde carried me."

"Do you know anything about the mist here?"

"I do not know – but none have passed through. Alduin, his hunger insatiable, hunts the lost souls snared within this shadowed valley. Can you lead the way to where Shor՚s hall waits, beckoning us on to welcome long sought?"

"Shor՚s hall? Wait, I have heard about this before, but what is it exactly?

"Don't you know? What drew you here? Surely your dreams showed you the way. The Hall of Valor, where heroes wait to follow Shor to the final battle. I saw it fair when first I trod this long sought path. The pain and fear vanished, dreamlike, and a vision beckoned to Shor՚s hall, shimmering across the clouded vale. But quenched was hope by the shrouding mist; darkened is my mind. I've lost the way and wander blindly. Hurry! Before Alduin your soul devours bring word to Shor՚s hall of our hard fate!"

"Don't worry, I'm here to kill Alduin."

"Beware! The World-Eater waits within the mist!"

The soldier was apparently scared by something and ran off into the mist again. Once he was almost gone from our sight, a loud roar was heard, and a huge black dragon swooped down to snap the poor guy up in his jaws – Alduin had arrived.

I looked at my wife, and we were both silent for some time.

"So if we go into that mist, will Alduin attack us, too?" my wife asked me.

"Maybe he will, and although eventually we want to fight him, it would difficult to do in all of that mist."

"I have an idea!" T'mara said. "Let me try and find out if my 'Clear Sky' shout helps.

She shouted '_LOK VAH KOOR_' and indeed, the mist was gone and we could see most of the valley spread before us. Just a few seconds later there a loud roar from above, and the mists came back, but we had seen enough to proceed. Ignoring the mist for now, we trotted down the narrow path towards the elevation and large building we had seen further down in the valley. Once or twice T'mara shouted again to clear the mists, and always they were regenerated by Alduin quickly.

Just before we managed to get to the hill which had the larger building on it, we met another person, a male Nord dressed in noble clothes. Once we had told him about our mission, he introduced himself as High King Torygg and claimed:

"When Ulfric Stormcloak, with savage Shout, sent me here, my sole regret was fair Elisif, left forlorn and weeping. I faced him fearlessly – my fate inescapable, yet my honor is unstained – can Ulfric say the same?"

We did not have a suitable comment and left him behind, to step on top the hill which was now right ahead of us. A whalebone bridge offered access to the large hall, crossing a small river, and we assumed that we were supposed to use the bridge and get into the building. The bridge was guarded by a very tall and strong looking warrior, though, and he challenged us:

"What brings you, wayfarer grim, to wander here, in Sovngarde, souls-end, Shor՚s gift to honored dead?"

At least we knew for sure now that we were in the right place. T'mara stepped forward and asked the formidable warrior:

"Who are you?"

"I am Tsun, shield-thane to Shor. The Whalebone Bridge he bade me guard and winnow all those souls whose heroic end sent them here, to Shor՚s lofty hall where welcome, well earned, awaits those I judge fit to join that fellowship of honor."

"We seek entrance to the Hall of Valor."

"No shade are you, as usually here passes, but living, you dare the land of the dead. By what right do you request entry?"

"By right of birth. I am Dragonborn."

"Ah! It's been too long since last I faced a doom-driven hero of the dragon blood. However, living or dead, by decree of Shor, none may pass this perilous bridge until I judge them worthy by the warrior's test."

T'mara looked back at me, quickly telling me that this was something she felt compelled to do, and stepped forward to face the warrior.

While it seemed almost impossible for my petite Khajiit wife to persevere against the huge Nord warrior, she was much nimbler than him, and although she suffered from a few injuries, she managed to wound him enough to yield, with the words:

"You fought well. I find you worthy. It is long since one of the living has entered here. May Shor՚s favor follow you and your errand."

The warrior stepped aside and allowed us to cross the bridge now.

Stepping through the door, we entered the huge building. The center was taken by a large open fireplace, with lots of meat skewers turning above it, walls were lined with larger barrels, and many male and female Nord warriors were ambling around. One of the warriors approached us and introduced himself as Ysgramor. He welcomed my wife:

"Welcome, Dragonborn! Our door has stood empty since Alduin first set his soul-snare here. By Shor՚s command we sheathed our blades and ventured not the vale's dark mist. But three await your word to loose their fury upon the perilous foe. Gormlaith the Fearless, glad-hearted in battle; Hakon the Valiant, heavy-handed warrior; Felldir the Old, far-seeing and grim."

The three warriors he had named joined us, and T'mara rejoiced:

"I have seen you before, when I read the Elder Scroll on the Throat of the World! It is you I learned the Dragonrend shout from!"

She exchanged words of the greetings to them, and the warriors replied:

"At long last! Alduin՚s doom is now ours to seal – just speak the word, and with high hearts we'll hasten forth to smite the worm wherever he lurks." That was Gormlaith, showing some enthusiasm.

Felldir, though, added words of caution: "Hold, comrades – let us counsel take before battle is blindly joined. Alduin՚s mist is more than a snare – its shadowy gloom is his shield and cloak. But with four voices joined, our valor combined, we can blast the mist and bring him to battle."

Hakon nodded: "Felldir speaks wisdom – the World-Eater, coward, fear you, Dragonborn. We must drive away his mist, Shouting together, and then unsheathe our blades in desperate battle with our black-winged foe."

We sat together at the fire for some time and joined them in eating and drinking, and it turned out that they actually believed that we could defeat Alduin together. All three of them plus my wife shouting together, so they hoped, should be able to overcome the dragon's Thu'um.

Finally, Gormlaith arose and called out: "To battle, my friends! The fields will echo with the clamor of war, our wills undaunted."

The warriors drew their weapons and waited for T'mara to lead them out into battle. We crossed the whalebone bridge again and looked out into the dense mist.

"We cannot fight the foe in this mist!" Felldir said.

Gormlaith suggested: "Clear Skies – combine our Shouts!"

All four of them shouted together, but just seconds later Alduin was heard shouting 'VEN MUL RIIK' from above, and the mists were restored.

Gormlaith encouraged us: "Again!"

And Felldir agreed: "We can shatter his power if we Shout together!"

Once more, all four of them shouted 'Clear Skies', and once more Alduin brought the mist back.

Hakon complained: "Does his strength have no end? Is our struggle in vain?"

Gormlaith stated: "Stand fast! His strength is failing! Once more, and his might will be broken!"

Felldir was with him again: "His power crumbles – do not pause for breath!"

They shouted again, and this time Alduin was silent, so that the valley was clear for now. Alduin appeared and circled around us, and like what we had seen during our last encounter, started a meteor fire raining down on us, so that we needed to be careful to avoid being hit. I started to release some bolts form my crossbow with little effect, and as soon as T'mara was able to shout again, she used 'Dragonrend'. The beast crashed down on the ground, and the three ancient warriors were upon him, hitting him with their weapons.

While T'mara recovered from shouting, she looked at me and asked: "Those three are already dead, so Alduin can't hurt them, right?"

She had a point, but I did not really know how that worked. But anyway, after a few minutes of fighting, Alduin was clearly injured now. I continued to send bolts into his body, and T'mara blasted frost. Once she shouted '_KRII_' – marked for death – which made the warrior attacks cause even more damage. The huge dragon was not done, though, and mocked us:

"I have already defeated your friends once. I do not fear them."

But he was close to be defeated, and soon he called out:

"I am eternal! I cannot end!"

However, this time the beast seemed to be wrong. He was down on the ground, too weak to shout again, and both of his wings damaged beyond repair. He tried to blast fire against my wife again, but failed, and T'mara swung her axe and delivered the final blow to the dragon's head.

Tsun had observed the deed, stepped closer, and shouted: "That was a mighty deed! The doom of Alduin encompassed at last, and cleansed is Sovngarde of his evil snare. They will sing of this battle in Shor՚s hall forever. But your fate lies elsewhere. When you have completed your count of days, I may welcome you again, with glad friendship, and bid you join the blessed feasting."

The ancient warriors joined in: "All hail the Dragonborn! Hail her with great praise!"

We went back to the Hall of Valor together to recover, heal our injuries, and rest. After a big celebration party we retired for the night, and on the next morning Tsun taught my wife a shout to call one of the ancient heroes for help if needed. She was told that she could even select which of the heroes to summon – using only the first word would summon Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, two words Felldir the Old, and three words Hakon One-Eye.

Once we were all set, a special shout of him brought us back to Tamriel, and we found ourselves right on top of the Throat of the World.

A large number of dragons were all around us when we arrived, but they did not attack. Rather, they shouted various words and phrases in dragon tongue, and finally Paarthurnax settled down close to us, saying:

"So, it is done. Alduin dilon. The Eldest is no more, he who came before all others, and has always been."

"You don't sound very happy about it."

"Happy? No, I am not happy. Zeymahi lost ont du'ul Bormahu. Alduin was once the crown of our father Akatosh՚s creation. You did what was necessary. Alduin had flown far from the path of right action in his pahlok- the arrogance of his power. But I cannot celebrate his fall. Zu'u tiiraaz ahst ok mah. He was my brother once. This world will never be the same."

"I understand your feelings, but he brought this on himself, and he had to be stopped."

"Indeed. Alduin wahlaan daanii. His doom was written when he claimed for himself the lordship that properly belongs to Bormahu – our father Akatosh. But I cannot celebrate his fall. Rok funta koraav. Perhaps now you have some insight into the forces that shape the vennesetiid... the currents of Time. Perhaps now... "

"The world is a better place without Alduin."

"I am glad you believe that. At least it will continue to exist. Grik los lein. Even I cannot see past Time's ending to what comes next. Niid koraav zeim dinoksetiid. We must do the best we can with this world. But I forget myself. Krosis. So los mid fahdon. Melancholy is an easy trap for a dovah to fall into. You have won a mighty victory. Sahrot krongrah – one that will echo through all the ages of this world for those who have eyes to see. Savor your triumph, Dovahkiin. This is not the last of what you will write upon the currents of Time."

The ancient dragon leaped off the wall and ascended to the skies. He shouted down his farewell:

"Goraan! I feel younger than I have in many an age. Many of the dovah are now scattered across Keizaal. Without Alduin՚s lordship, they may yet bow to the vahzen... rightness of my Thu'um. Fare thee well, Dovahkiin!"

We were certain that we had not seen him for the last time, and now Odahviing had something to say, too:

"If Alduin himself could not stand against your Thu'um, I feel no shame in my own defeat. As for myself, you've proven your mastery twice over. Thuri, Dovahkiin. I gladly acknowledge the power of your Thu'um. Zu'u Odahviing. Call me when you have need, and I will come if I can."

Well, I guess that we had made a friend, and now we started to descend down the narrow path to High Hrothgar.

All four of the Greybeards were waiting for us in the courtyard when we came down. Of course, they must have noticed the signals, and now they wanted to learn the details.

Arngeir greeted us:

"I can see it in your eyes – you've seen the land of the gods and returned. Does this mean... is it done? Is Alduin truly defeated?"

"Yes," my wife confirmed, "we went to Sovngarde and killed Alduin there."

"At last. It is over. Perhaps it was all worth it, in the end."

"I hope so. But I don't know if Alduin can ever be completely destroyed. I mean, is the dragon really dead? I didn't absorb his soul when he died."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Dragons are not like normal mortal creatures, and Alduin is unique even among dragonkind. He may be permitted to return at the end of time to fulfill his destiny as the World-Eater. But that is for the gods to decide. You have done your part."

Once we had reported part of our story, the Greybeard nodded and warned us:

"You've shown yourself mighty, both in Voice and deed. In order to defeat Alduin, you've gained mastery of dreadful weapons. Now it is up to you to decide what to do with your power and skill. Will you be a hero whose name is remembered in song throughout the ages? Or will your name be a curse to future generations? Or will you merely fade from history, unremembered? Let the Way of the Voice be your guide, and the path of wisdom will be clear to you. Breath and focus, Dragonborn. Your future lies before you."

We went into the building to rest again and spent the night there. Before leaving High Hrothgar on the next day, my wife asked Arngeir:

"Can you suggest a place to visit where I can learn another helpful Shout, please?"

The Greybeard raised his head, closed his eyes and seemed to meditate for a few moments, before he replied:

"I have felt the whispers of a word from a location called 'Hag's End'; let me mark it on your map. Be careful when you go there, as it is guarded well. Also, access to this place is not possible in a direct way. You will need to find and enter the adjacent 'Deepwood Redoubt' in order to get there – keep that in mind."

We thanked Arngeir for the information and we walked down to Ivarstead, in a good mood. Halfway down the mountain, T'mara looked at me and asked:

"What do we do now?"

"Well, get to the Ivarstead inn and chat with Wilbert, I guess."

"No, I mean, what's our next big task?"

I thought about it and replied: "Good point. With Alduin being defeated, the main Dragonborn task seems to be done. I do not know if Delphine will be happy to learn that a number of dragons is still alive, but most of them might not be hostile any longer, and certainly the danger of the world being eaten is gone."

"Exactly!" my wife called out. "So, what do we do now?"

"For the first time in one year, my dear," I told her, "we may have a choice to actually do what we want to do rather than what we are supposed to do, I believe."

"You think so?" she responded. "I have spent to much time and effort on my destiny as Dragonborn that I may not know right away what I really want to do, except for one very important part..."

"And what would that be?" I got curious.

"What ever it is I am going to do, I will do it together with you, my love!"

I could not have agreed more and pulled my pretty Khajiit wife into a tight hug.

Of course, there was something specific we should do rather sooner than later – we were supposed to let the good citizens of Skyrim know that this particular threat was eliminated and they did not have to be concerned any longer about the world ending soon. Jarl Balgruuf should be one of the first to learn about that, and thus we hurried towards Whiterun once we were down from High Hrothgar, not even stopping in Helgen and Riverwood.

A couple of days later we reached the city, and although some citizens tried to stop and question us, we quickly told them we we needed to report to the Jarl and moved on. Entering Dragonsreach, Irileth, the Jarl՚s housecarl, noticed us first and called out:

"My Jarl, look who's coming!"

We made our way up to the throne, bowed our heads and greeted the Jarl, who asked us:

"My Thanes, is seeing you here again so quickly a bad sign or a good one?"

T'mara proudly stepped forward and stated:

"My Jarl, we are proud and happy to report that Alduin, the world eater, has been defeated in Sovngarde and is no more."

"So you actually managed to pull it off?"

"Yes, we did," I nodded, "but we only succeeded by teaming up with some heroes of old who were waiting for us in the Hall of Valor. Ysgramor himself greeted us, and the feasting there was a sight to behold."

The Jarl beamed now, and asked further:

"Does that imply that there are no dragons any more in Skyrim?"

"Not quite so" T'mara explained. "While Alduin is dead, most of his former soldiers remain. However, as their general is no more, they don't owe any allegiance any longer. We believe that most of them at least will not trouble your citizens any longer, and their new leader, one of Alduin՚s former lieutenants and a good friend of us, will do his best to avoid further conflicts."

"Well, let's see if this is good enough. But anyway, many thanks to both of your for your valiant efforts. You have done not only Whiterun, but entire Skyrim a big favor, and I fear that I have no idea how you could be properly rewarded."

"There is no reason for a big reward" I told him. "We are happy and proud to call Whiterun our home, and we revel in the knowledge that this hold's Jarl is a fair and just man, ruling over his citizens not with an iron fist, but with benevolence and goodwill. We would not want to live anywhere else in Skyrim."

The Jarl was rendered almost speechless by our commitment, and finally he replied:

"And I would not want to have it anyway different – thank you again, my Thanes."

The Jarl stood up from his throne, and raised his voice:

"In celebration of the victory my two Thanes achieved we will have a big festival. In a few days we normally welcome 'Harvest's End' anyway, and this year we will turn it into a big celebration here in Whiterun. Everybody gets a day off and is invited, and I will sponsor drinks and meat from my cellar. This is the very least I can do, and I do hope that my Thanes will attend!"

"For sure we will, my Jarl" I was quick to respond.

I was not really a big fan of parties, but this was something I could not really avoid. I could understand the Jarl՚s motivation to celebrate, and although I did not like to be in the center of attention, people needed the occasional break from their daily routines. In the morning of the big day, we selected more formal clothes rather than our usual armor, and we spent some time walking around the city and greeting people. We even met Eric, whom we had talked to in Rorikstead. He had finally been allowed to go to Whiterun and had been accepted as a whelp into the Companions while we had been fighting Alduin, and he was quite happy to see us, as we had convinced his father to eventually let him go.

Marine joined us for some time, and she was much more willing than we were to tell some of our adventures. She could be quite elaborate about fighting Alduin on the 'Throat of the World', and although this had not been the final battle, she was better in illustrating such a battle than we were, and people listened with rapt attention. Her way of phrasing events was, I had to admit reluctantly, closer to what people liked to hear. When I was speaking, I mostly tried to be polite and avoid curses and not so polite words, but many Nords preferred Marine's much more colorful way of talking, although I still had my concerns about hearing a young teenager talking like that.

In the early afternoon, the big feasting started, and fireplaces had been set up in multiple locations in the city. Kodlak had been talked into declaring some kind of 'open door day', and people were invited into the great hall in Jorrvaskr. As a side effect, more young people applied to be a Companion, and Kodlak was going to select those he considered most suitable.

Most nobles were gathering in Dragonsreach, of course, but additional food was offered for free in the two inns and other places. At Dragonsreach Jarl Balgruuf the Greater gave a speech, of course, with T'mara and myself at his side. Once he had summarized some of the major events, he looked at both of us and said proudly:

"Above and beyond cherishing the resolution to the crisis by knowing that Alduin is gone, I am specifically proud to know that the deed was done by two Thanes of Whiterun, T'mara and Timotheus. It must have been divine intervention by Akatosh himself, indeed, to bring both of you together, and I believe that is has worked out magnificently. Cheers to the Dragonborn and her husband!"

My wife did not mind at all to have me celebrated together with her, rather than getting all of the praise on her own, as she was the Dragonborn after all and I was not. But we both liked to share almost everything anyway, and, as I knew with some kind of elation, she would not have been able to complete her big mission without me, or at least not that quickly. We had taken almost exactly one year to bring Alduin down, and the Jarl was picking up on that:

"My two Thanes have defeated Alduin within one year since we had heard about dragons returning, and I cannot avoid to wonder what you two will be doing now?"

This called for an answer, and my wife pledged with her eyes for me to provide one. I carefully responded:

"My Jarl, thank you for your praise. It was an honor to fulfill our mission for Whiterun and for Skyrim. As we have spent one year of hurrying from one task to another one, we will probably take it easy for some time. However, please rest assured that we don't intend to retire. Rather, I am sure that we will find something else to do, but for now we will take our time."

"One of the tasks we will certainly endeavor to do is to find out if there any dragons in Skyrim still causing havoc. If there are any, we will go and talk to them or have our faithful Odahviing talk to them, so that both dragons and humans can live in peaceful harmony."

Suddenly almost everybody was applauding; apparently the good citizens of Whiterun liked what I had stated. At the end of the day, when we talked to many more people and also got a chance to eat and drink, we were happy to retire to Breezehome and basically dropped into our bed.

"You know," T'mara said while yawning, "such a celebration is almost more tiring that a day of walking and fighting."

"I fully agree, my love" I nodded, "and by the way I like it when you yawn – it shows off your teeth in a very nice way."

"Hm, maybe those teeth should get into contact with your skin some more" T'mara teased me. It turned out, though, that she was too tired to actually do that, and quite soon I had a sleeping wife in my arms.

_[Author's Notes: Good point- what are they going to do next? Let's find out and stay tuned for more chapters. I am only going to tell that they are certainly not going to sit around all day long, talking to people during the day and cuddling during the night.]_


	59. Chapter 59 - End of the Dark Brotherhood

**Chapter 59: The end of the Dark Brotherhood**

_[28__th__ of Last Seed – 13__th__ of Hearthfire 4E 202]_

On the next day we transferred ourselves to Riverside Lodge. This home was larger and much cozier, and it was well suited to rest and relax for a few days, well tended by our housecarls. For a change, it was quite nice not to have something urgent to do, and we spent hours and days in the garden, walking around, visiting friends in Riverwood and Whiterun, and just having a good time.

On one of those nice and quiet days my wife went hunting together with Jordis, while I stayed at home and prepared one of my favorite dishes for dinner, roasted venison with potato dumplings and savoy cabbage, with a side of cranberry jelly. Late in the afternoon, when the roast was simmering in the oven, Jordis and T'mara came back, with T'mara looking quite battered, limping, and supporting herself on Jordis' shoulder.

Naturally, I was very concerned and asked what happened, and my wife replied: "I am out of magicka. Can you please do me a favor and heal me first, and we'll talk later."

I followed her suggestion and applied my healing magic to her body. She had a few cuts and bruises and one very nasty sword wound on her leg, and I took my time to treat the wounds properly, mostly with my healing spell. T'mara opted to rest until dinner was ready and retired to our bed for now, and Jordis joined me in the kitchen, delivering her report:

"Hunting was quite nice initially. We got a rabbit and followed a deer's trail, when suddenly two masked men jumped from behind a bush and attacked your wife. Edric was flying high and was too far away and I was also not very close, so that the two got some hits in before T'mara could really defend herself. Bran got involved real quick and distracted one of the attackers, and when T'mara was in trouble, wounded and all, Edric finally came down in a nose dive and drove the second guy off. Together with the two animals, I managed to kill both of them and then did my best to treat your wife, but I am not good at all in Restoration magic. Fortunately I had a healing potion in my pack which I delivered – I had not expected a mere hunting trip to get dangerous. Before we turned home, we searched the two villians and found a letter, which you may want to read."

She handed me the letter, and when I opened it and started to read, I understood. The Dark Brotherhood had sent two assassins this time, and obviously they still wanted the Dragonborn dead. Somebody must have paid a lot of septims for that contract, and we still did not know what the motivation was. That had not been the first attempt on her life at all, but so far the most dangerous one.

Fortunately, T'mara was soon well enough to join us for dinner on the porch, and we all enjoyed the meal in silence. Once we had eaten, T'mara told me that she was already feeling much better, and she said:

"I have to admit that those assassination attempts really start to annoy me. I think that we should try to stop them, if we can. But, can we?"

"Good question" I responded. "Normally, they don't give up until the contract is fulfilled. Obviously the death of their leader, Astrid, whom I killed last year, is not really a problem. One should think that they'd target me rather than you, but maybe they just don't know it was me killing Astrid. Anyway, maybe we should really talk to that commander in Dragonbridge, I think the name is Maro, to find out if he's got an idea."

"All right, yes" my wife nodded. "Once I have completely recovered, let's go there and talk to the man. It's about time to stop the Dark Brotherhood once and for all."

I was not so sure if we really could, but it should be worth an attempt at least.

A few days later T'mara declared that she was as ready as she could be, and we embarked on our next journey. Iona and Valdimar were going to stay here, but Jordis wanted to join us; after all, Dragonbridge was in her home hold Haafingar.

The journey itself was not eventful. With one stop in Rorikstead, we reached the town of Dragonbridge in the afternoon of the second way, and a guard was happy to point us to the Penitus Oculatus Outpost. We entered and found a grim looking Imperial together with a few soldiers. I addressed him:

"Excuse me, but are you Commander Maro?"

"Yes, I am – what do you want?"

"Well, guards directed me to you. You know, I believe that I killed the leader of the Dark Brotherhood some time ago."

That got him curious: "The leader of the Dark Brotherhood? You mean Astrid?"

"I am not sure about her name, but that should be her, yes."

"Dead? And this is no jest?"

"No, not really. She wanted to recruit me and force me to kill one of her victims, but it turned out that she was the victim when I left."

"Ha! This is the stroke of good fortune. Long have I watched the Dark Brotherhood's movements... waiting for the time to strike."

"What kind of strike do you have in mind, if I may ask?"

"My agents have recently acquired the passphrase to their Sanctuary, in Falkreath Hold. I would like you to lead a group of soldiers to infiltrate the place and kill all inside; you've slain their leader, so that the honor should be yours. Every assassin in that hole must be put down! Do this, and you will be rewarded most handsomely!"

"A reward is not so important, but we will gladly join in the effort and lead the group. Actually, if you don't mind, I would rather work on this task together with warriors I already know. Specifically, I'd want to employ the Companions of Whiterun, and any reward you may be willing to pay will be going to them – will that be all right for you?"

He nodded: "If you think that's best, yes, that will do as well. I only ask that you take one of my trusted agents as observer. Arcturus, come over here!"

One of the soldiers in the background of the room, an Imperial, joined us, and Maro introduced us:

"May I introduce Arcturus, a trusted agent in my team. Arcturus, this gentleman her claims that he killed Astrid, and he volunteers to lead the attack on the sanctuary."

I realized that we had not yet introduced ourselves and did that now. Arcturus was more than happy to join us, and we agreed to travel back to Whiterun on the next day.

Before we left, Maro added:

"Don't forget – you need to remember the passphrase to enter the sanctuary - 'Silence, my brother'. I will be eagerly waiting to hear your report in a week or so. Good luck!"

Once we were back in Whiterun, we went straight up to Jorrvaskr, and I conferred with Kodlak. Destroying the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary was a task he could identify with, and though he was a little too old to participate in person, he approved sending a group of Companions with us. In particular, Vilkas, Farkas, Athis, and Njada would come with us, so that we'd be eight experienced warriors – that should be good enough.

Fortunately, Commander Maro had provided some hints towards the location of the sanctuary. According to information he had obtained somehow, it was supposed to be not far from the city of Falkreath, somewhere to the west.

We bypassed the city by taking the road on the southern shore of Lake Ilinalta, and warm sunshine illuminated a beautiful scenery there, with glittering water, water lilies, various other flowers, and some ducks and swans. We found a rock to eat our lunch, and Arcturus was impressed:

"This is a nice area you have in the south of Skyrim. Quite different from Haafingar."

After some searching, we found a suspicious looking partially hidden door leading into rock from a small glade right west of the city of Falkreath. The door has a skull carving on it as well as a bloody handprint, and we agreed that this was the likely location. Athis and Njada would stay outside just in case somebody tried to escape, and the rest of us were going to enter. I stepped close to the door, and there was an odd voice asking:

"What is the music of life?"

I responded with the answer Commander Maro had suggested:

"Silence, my brother."

And, right away, the door magically opened, obviously unaware that we were not really authorized to enter. I had already summoned Pammy and she was in first, with me right behind her, followed by the others.

For the first part, we tried to sneak, and initially nobody had noticed us yet. The first enemy we encountered was a male Redguard, right in the second room. I approached him first, casting a new spell I had acquired and learned during my last time at the College of Winterhold. The spell was called 'calm' and was an apprentice level spell in the school of Illusion, and my own level was just good enough for it.

The man turned around when he heard my steps, and, rather than turning hostile right away, he looked at me curiously and said:

"A new member, right? You know, so many contracts, so little time. You've got people to kill, my friend. Best get to it."

Well, he was right with the last sentence, at least, and when the spell wore off, I got my greatsword out. He had just enough time for calling out "Intruders!" when I ran my sword through his chest.

We paid attention to the doors, assuming that his shout had been heard, and indeed, a female Dunmer and a male Nord came running though two different doors. Not expecting such a large group, they hesitated for a moment, and the Nord was defeated by Vilkas and Farkas, while my wife killed the Dunmer.

Nobody else came, and we started to search the other rooms in groups of two. We found an elder Assassin and an Argonian, and both were quickly disposed off. A careful search of the place revealed that that was it – five assassins in total. There was some loot and money, too, and there was a thick journal hidden at the back of a locked drawer, which we took as well, of course.

Once we had made sure that we had not missed anything, we decided to get back to Dragonbridge as quickly as possible, while we dismissed the Companions. When we got there two days later, we went back to Commander Maro right away, and once both Arcturus and I had completed our report, he said:

"By all I hold holy... Can it be true? Have you actually done it? This is a great day, my friend. You have struck a blow against darkness that will not soon be forgotten! Here, as promised – a most generous reward."

I had almost forgotten the journal, though, and handed it over with the words:

"Oh, by the way, we also found this journal hidden in a drawer."

"Thank you. Why don't you allow me some time to read it and come back in a couple of hours or so?"

We agreed and left him to his reading. It was about lunch time anyway, and thus we – T'mara, Jordis and myself, we had sent the Companions back to Jorrvaskr – entered the local inn to get something to eat.

While we were waiting for our meal to be served by Faida in the 'Four Shields Tavern', I asked my wife:

"Are you feeling better now with the Dark Brotherhood destroyed?"

"I don't know, somehow I can't believe it yet"

When we met Commander Maro again later on, it turned out that T'mara doubts were justified, as he told us:

"According to what I have read, we missed at least two members, and they have probably retreated to a second sanctuary close to Dawnstar. I know that you have done enough already, but would you maybe..."

He was unsure how to continue, but I nodded – I owed it to my wife to complete what we had started, and so I replied:

"Yes, we will also do that. Have Arcturus come with us again, and the four of us should be good enough to deal with the last two members. Does the journal say where exactly we can find the sanctuary?"

He shook his head: "Not exactly, no. It is just mentioned that it's close to Dawnstar and close to the shore."

"Good enough – we will find it. We will report back to you in a week or so."

Arcturus, Jordis, my wife and I arrived in Dawnstar two days later and first spent the night in the local inn. Over breakfast we discussed the search parameters, and Arcturus, who had been in the area a few times before, suggested:

"Look, being close to the shore implies that the location is either northwest, north, or northeast of the city. We start on one side and work our way towards the other one, walking along the shore, and we should be able to find it."

His proposal made sense, and we first searched the coastal area northwest of the city for a few hours, with no result. Looking around finally, I mused:

"Hm, if the sanctuary is built into the rocks like the first one is, the cliffs northeast of the city are probably a more likely location anyway than the area around here, which is more flat."

We moved around the harbor area and past the last house on the eastern side, and indeed the cliffs starting soon after looked like a more suitable option. It still took us another couple of hours of careful searching, but eventually Arcturus found something and called us over. Facing the sea, an odd door was built into the rocks, and it looked similar to the door at the first sanctuary, with a skull and a bloody hand print on it.

"That must be it!" I called out.

"But how do we get in?" my wife asked.

Arcturus pulled a note from his pocket and read:

"The door will ask 'What is life's greatest illusion', and the proper answer is: 'Innocence, my brother'. Don't ask we how we know, but the Penitus Oculatus has some sources."

"So, do we all go in?" my wife asked.

"I think we should, but why don't we leave Bran, Edric and Pammy out here a guards."

We did that and entered the cave; the door had opened obediently once we had supplied the proper answer. In the first room we saw nobody and thus carefully moved on. The second room had a small Imperial who was clothed like a jester, and we hesitated to attack. The small man seemed to talk to a coffin, and we heard some of what he was saying:

"Are we alone? Yes... yes... alone. Sweet solitude. No one will hear us, disturb us. Everything is going according to plan. Cicero understands. Heh. Cicero always understands! And obeys! You will talk when you're ready, won't you? Won't you... sweet Night Mother."

At this time he turned around and noticed us and shouted out "Intruders! Help!" right away. Arcturus charged and ran him through with his sword. Before he died, he mumbled his last words:

"...What? Mother? Is that your voice I hear? Hmm... No, no... Just my head playing tricks... Foolish Cicero..."

We did not have a clue to what mother he was referring to, but it did not matter any longer. We continued to search the cave, and in one of the bedrooms we saw a girl sleeping; she looked like she had not even reached her teenage years yet.

T'mara approached and looked at her, suggesting:

"Look, it appears like they have a hostage or so."

Indeed, the girl woke up, and when she saw the four of us, looking quite grim, she begged:

"I'm just a little girl! The Dark Brotherhood killed my mama and papa, and then they took me captive! Please, please help me!"

T'mara opened her arms for the girl and assured her that we'd of course help her.

"What is your name, dear?" she asked.

"My name is Babette" the little girl replied.

Jordis stayed with them, and Arcturus and I completed our search; although there should have been a final brotherhood member, we found nobody else.

"Damn," the agent said, "maybe the final person is out for a task or so."

We slowly walked back to the bedroom where we had left Jordis and my wife with the little girl, and just before we entered, we heard that girl speaking with a quite different voice:

"In truth, I'm no more a little girl than you are. I was once, of course. Three hundred years ago. Vampirism tends to keep one remarkably... fresh."

What was that? And why were both Jordis and T'mara sitting on the bed like frozen, not doing anything? The girl had her back to us, probably not expecting us to be back yet, and she turned around now, facing us:

"My targets make the mistake of not perceiving me as a threat. Last mistake they ever make."

Well, I guess that she was right about that. However, I had already recovered from my shock, and before the vampire could attack Arcturus and myself, I blasted a fireball against her, which made her tumble against the next wall. She was quite resilient, though, and still came out alive, with fury showing in her face. I had pulled my greatsword and use all of my skills to keep her from my body, but she had neglected the agent for a moment, and he cut her right arm off with his sword. The girl screamed, and this gave me the chance to swing my greatsword through her neck. Even a vampire could not survive without the head being attached any longer, and the girl's body fell down to the ground.

Arcturus and I were both unscathed, and I was concerned about the two ladies on the bed now. What had happened to them? They were still not moving, and I did not know what the vampire girl had done to them. I saw them breathing, though, so that they were at least alive. Maybe they had been poisoned?

Arcturus suggested: "I think that the two ladies have been paralyzed. I have seen that before, and if my suspicion is correct, the effect will taper off by itself."

"You may be right about that" I replied. "So, let's just wait until they recover."

I placed Jordis carefully on another bed and took T'mara into my arms, gently stroking her and waiting for her recovery, while Arcturus searched the rooms for loot and further hidden journals.

A couple of hours later T'mara started to stir, but it took another hour or so before she could speak clearly again. Jordis took a little longer, and my wife told us slowly:

"The vampire must have managed to paralyze us somehow; she had mentioned that she is a master of alchemy. We heard the start of a fight, and then nothing."

"We got everything under control here" I assured her. "The cave is cleared, and we can afford to rest until Jordis and you are fully recovered."

Arcturus had come back and prepared supper for us; we found enough beds and retired for the night.

One day later the two ladies were fit again and we made our way back to Dragonbridge. Commander Maro was more than happy to see us again, and Arcturus proudly reported:

"We have found and cleared the Dawnstar Sanctuary. We killed two more members, one of them a vampire girl, and I found another journal."

He handed over the small pamphlet to his superior, who browsed it for a few minutes, before he replied:

"You have done us a great service. Please accept another reward!"

We got another coin purse and took our leave from Maro and Arcturus. As the evening was close, we rented a room for the night at 'Four Shields Tavern' and retired to bed after a quick supper.

_[Author's Notes: I believe in the game you cannot easily take followers into the sanctuary with you, but it makes so much more sense to do this in a group rather than alone.]_


	60. Chapter 60 - Jarl Elisif's plans

**Chapter 60: Jarl Elisif's plans**

_[14__th__ – 17__th__ of Hearthfire 4E 202]_

We slept in on the next morning, and when we had breakfast in the Dragonbridge inn, T'mara suggested to go to Solitude:

"Why don't we spend a few easy days in the city, and while there, we can also visit the Bard's College and return the flute we found a long time ago."

"My dear, I like that idea – let's do that!"

Jordis, being a citizen of Solitude, was of course also happy about our plans, so that we took the road northeast soon. Not being in a hurry at all, we ambulated more than hiked, and we took our time picking a few flowers as well as enjoying the summer scenery. We passed a squads of Imperial soldiers once or twice and exchanged greetings in passing, and we reached the spot where a road branched north towards the statue of Meridia. The statue was visible from the road nearby, and T'mara stopped for a moment to recall some fond memories:

"Do you remember when we were here for the first time and cleaned that temple for Meridia?"

"What," Jordis asked, "you had some business with the Daedric princess Meridia?"

"Yes, indeed" my wife replied. "We had found a beacon belonging to her, and she asked that we clean her temple which had been defiled by necromancers. We did that, and I gained her favor. That was a nice adventure."

Jordis was visibly impressed; not everybody managed to gain the favor of a Daedric Lord or Lady, although contact with those was not always regarded as welcome or laudable, of course. There were some who were generally considered 'good', like Azura and Meridia, compared to others who were considered 'evil', such as Mehrunes Dagon, Boethiah, and Molag Bal.

Moving on, we passed the side road branching off towards the Thalmor Embassy, and ahead the big stone arch a part of the city was built on was clearly visible. T'mara stopped again and admired the view:

"How is it possible that such a huge arch exists here?"

"I do not know" I had to admit. "But it is beautiful nonetheless."

"According to the city's history books," Jordis added, "the arch is fully natural and was already there when the first settlement was founded here in the late first era."

My wife just nodded, and we walked on towards the city. Close to the gates, we met M'aiq again, who was called 'the Liar' by most. Today his greeting was:

"M'aiq is always in search of calipers, yet finds none. Where could they have gone?"

Before we could ask him what this was supposed to mean, he was gone again, and T'mara looked at me for an explanation. I pondered that statement and told her:

"You know, calipers were tools more common in past times, I think. I vaguely recall a section in my ancestor's diary about somebody collecting calipers in the Shivering Isles, the realm of Sheogorath. What they are good for, I do not know, and I have not seen any in Skyrim yet, I think."

This time, there was no execution going on when we entered the city gates, and we just strolled through the streets a little. An Altmer lady came out of the store 'Radiant Rainment', which was know for fashionable clothing, when we passed, and she looked at T'mara and said:

"If you're heading to the Blue Palace, you might want to rethink that outfit."

T'mara was wearing her usual Dawnguard armor, and she looked annoyed:

"What's wrong with my outfit? It's quite proper for traveling and fighting, I can assure you!"

The Altmer lady told her: "Nothing at all. It's very... nice, for traveling and fighting, that is.. If you want something with a little more style, however, you should come by our shop – Radiant Raiment. We could fix you up right now."

My wife replied: "I am not sure if I want to get 'fixed up'. But you mentioned going to the Blue Palace, and we will probably head there quite soon."

The Altmer responded: "You're really going to the Blue Palace? That presents an opportunity. You see, if you were willing to wear one of Radiant Raiment's outfits and speak to the Jarl I would not only pay you but let you keep the outfit."

"Well, this is a tempting offer. What exactly would you want me to wear?"

"Step into my store right here, and I will show you!"

T'mara looked at me, almost like apologizing, but I encouraged here to go with the lady, and she entered the store with the Altmer.

Jordis and I waited outside, and we did not have to wait for very long before my wife came out again, looking totally different. She rarely wore a dress, and I recalled our last time in Solitude, when she had bought a nice white and blue one from the same store. Today's dress was more green with some yellow parts, but it suited her quite well, too.

"Don't you think this dress makes me look silly?" T'mara asked me.

"No, not at all – you look beautiful in it!" I replied.

"Taarie, the Altmer, told me to get Jarl Elisif՚s opinion on it and if she likes it mention it's from Radiant Raiment."

"Well, let's find if the Jarl is available tomorrow, all right."

As we had done last time in the city, we found ourselves a room in the 'Winking Skeever', the local inn, and went to bed there after dinner.

Time for a visit to the Blue Palace! T'mara wore her new dress from the store, and I also dressed in more formal clothes today. After breakfast we strolled through the city and approached the palace. Once we had entered, we stepped up the stairs and approached the throne room, where Jarl Elisif was in council. While the Jarl was busy, we came to stand next to Sybille Stentor, the court wizard. She had not been close when we had been here the last time and did not recognize us right away, and she just said:

"Be quick. I have little patience for mundane concerns. If I needed something from you, you would know it."

"What is your problem, Sybille?" I asked and introduced ourselves to her. She should not talk like that to a Thane of the hold, but I did not mind her very direct way at all.

"Nothing. I'm busy, and I don't like being bothered unless I'm expecting something from you." she replied. "Oh, don't give me that look. Fine. I supposed I can find some menial task to set your mind on. Hmm... We have something of a vampire problem. Bodies have been found with blood drained. I know of a den nearby you can wipe out as a precaution."

"Where would that den be located?"

"It is called 'Pinemoon Cave'; let me mark it on your map."

As this was right on our way towards 'Hag's End', T'mara and I agreed to do that task for her. In the end, it might turn out to be a favor not only for the court wizard, but for city, hold, and Jarl, too. At this time, Jarl Elisif had concluded her other business and waved us forward. Once we had approached, she greeted us cheerfully:

"Dragonborn, Thane Timotheus, welcome to Solitude again, and it is good to see you. How is the Dragonborn business going?"

While she had been briefly informed about Alduin՚s end by letter from Jarl Balgruuf, we provided a few more details, until she clapped her hands:

"Splendid! I am so glad that this problem is now out of the way! I wonder if you could find the time to run an errand for me?"

"What would that be, my Jarl?" I asked.

"I have been discussing the Civil War with General Tullius a lot during the last few weeks" she elaborated. "We believe that, unless Cyrodiil sends more legions, it will be almost impossible to defeat Jarl Ulfric՚s Stormcloaks. Even more, a lot of citizens even in my hold sympathize with Ulfric and his goals, specifically the prayer to Talos."

"Yes," I nodded, "we are aware of that."

"Tullius has good connections to the Cyrodiil council, and he believes that the Empire might grant Skyrim a status of partial autonomy, like Morrowind, if we present a united government and prove that the majority of the population is behind us" Jarl Elisif continued. "At this time, due to the Civil War, this is certainly not true."

"I happen to know" I offered "that Jarl Ulfric is also getting tired of the war, and he will probably like to hear that."

"Good to know," The Jarl replied, "as this is also something we think. We, that is General Tullius and myself, want to invite Jarl Ulfric for peace talks, but we doubt that he'd want to come here. Maybe there's another location he'd accept?"

I pondered that for a few seconds and responded: "If we really needed a fully neutral location, High Hrothgar comes into my mind. But the Greybeards would certainly not like a larger party imposing on them."

T'mara had a different idea: "I don't think that we need to go that far. Ulfric made his peace with Jarl Balgruuf, so maybe we can suggest Whiterun as neutral location. Would that be acceptable for you, too, Jarl Elisif?"

"Whiterun sounds perfect" the Jarl confirmed. "We will need a few days to finalize our specific ideas and to write the invitation letters. Would you two be willing to ask Jarl Balgruuf to host the conference and to ask Jarl Ulfric to attend when this is done?"

I looked at T'mara, and she nodded, so that I replied: "My Jarl, we'd be honored to do this, for the benefit not only of this hold, but for entire Skyrim. We have some business to attend to, but we will report again when we're back."

With that we took our leave and left the palace.

"Wow" T'mara looked at me and smiled. "I like those plans. Peace would be good, don't you think so?"

I agreed: "Yes, for sure."

As we were passing the Bard's College on our way back from the place, we stepped inside and looked for Pantea Ateia. We found the female Imperial sitting in a corner and approached her. T'mara said:

"Pantea, we found a flute which seems to belong to you in 'Hob's Fall Cave' in Winterhold, and we thought you might want to get it back."

The lady was surprised to hear that and took the flute from the Khajiit՚s hands: "That's my flute, indeed! A fool student stole it some time ago and sold it to a Necromancer. That flute has been handed down for seventeen generations! I don't have any money to give you. but I can show you a few tricks I learned playing for the Winterhold wizards."

She raised her hands and weaved some patterns around my wife, and magically T'mara՚s magic skills all improved a tick. While we were about to take our leave again, a student – a young tanned Imperial female – approached, and Pantea called over to her:

"You there, Aia, have you performed your voice exercises today?"

"Always! Perfection takes dedication, after all!"

"Yes, well, see that you keep at it. That is all."

We left the college again and went over to the market area to browse the offered merchandise. When we sat at dinner at the end of the day, we made plans; I asked my wife:

"Do you still want to go to that place Master Arngeir suggested?"

"Of course I do" she replied. "Not only that, but I also believe that we should clear the cave Sybille Stentor mentioned. It's on the way there anyway."

"All right for me" I agreed. "We should be back in a few days to find out how far the peace talk plans have progressed then."

This being decided, we retired to our room and went to bed.

The next day saw us walking out of the city via the road towards Dragonbridge. We took the side road towards Meridia՚s statue and passed it on our way north. Rather than following the road, though, we took advantage of the fine weather and hiked cross country, trying to find a shortcut. This took us to a location we had not known about and which also was not marked on our map. There was a nice and scenic pond with a very small island in the center. The pond was in a small clearing surrounded by fir trees and looked very nice, so that T'mara and I decided to take a break here. As we had just approached the pond's shore, though, a commotion started on the island, and we noticed a person being attacked by spriggans. We rushed over to help, and once we had defeated the spriggans, healed the person's severe injuries with our combined restoration skills.

The person turned out to be a female Altmer, and once she had recovered, she thanked us:

"I don't know what has gone wrong today. I have been here before, collecting alchemical ingredients for 'Angeline's Aromatics' in Solitude, but today suddenly those aggressive spriggans showed up. I sure would have perished without your help. Please take this book as a token of my appreciation!"

T'mara took a copy of the book 'De Rerum Dirennis' from the alchemists hands, and the Altmer lady proceeded on her way back to the city, while T'mara and I sat down to enjoy our lunch. Once we were done, I spread our map on a rock and pointed out:

"Look, the cave we are heading to, 'Pinemoon Cave', should be quite close. Let's try to find it!"

We picked up our packs again and moved on, and we actually found the cave entrance about half an hour later. The door was next to a small campsite, surrounded by a few logs to sit on, looking almost like somebody had improvised a picnic area. After entering the cave, I conjured Pammy and sent her ahead to scout together with Bran. While T'mara and I cautiously followed a long passage, the two animals raced ahead, and once we reached the end of the passage and entered a larger room, they had already disposed of three wolves. We carefully searched the room, but only found one passage leading on, right opposite from the one we had come in from. This time we kept Pammy and Bran behind us and slowly sneaked forward. After a few more turns we looked around a last corner and saw a larger room again with three vampires, standing close together. They had not yet noticed us, and I looked at my wife. She knew that this was a good opportunity for her Shout, stepped around me and blasted her '_YOL TOOR SHUL_' against the group of vampires. Two of them perished right away, but one of them, presumably the Master Vampire, was only slightly hurt and turned around, looking furious. He reanimated a Nord corpse lying around and faced us with his wrath. He used his 'vampiric drain' spell on me, but T'mara now blasted firebolts and Pammy raced ahead and attacked from the side. For the moment I ignored the spell against me and got my greatsword out, but all I could right now was to defend myself. Bran finally got a lucky bite in, and the Master Vampire had to stop his spell against me. I quickly healed myself and went into the offensive, so that finally we had the bad guy in a corner. A few more fire blasts distracted him and I was finally able to decapitate the vampire.

Once we had rested for a few moments, we searched the room and were surprised to find a huge amount of fly amanita mushrooms.

"Is that what vampires feed from?" T'mara as curious.

"I do not know," I replied, "but I thought they only feed from blood."

There was not much loot to be found, and soon we were out of the cave again, to continue our way towards 'Hag's End'. Actually, as we had been told, we'd need to get into 'Deepwood Redoubt' first, and we got there a couple of hours before dusk. Once we climbed a set of stairs, we noticed a number of Forsworn guarding a stone platform, and I started to attack with my crossbow. Pammy rushed forward and T'mara used her bow, and soon the place was cleared. As night was close, we decided to make camp right here, used the existing campfire to prepare dinner, and got down into our shared bedroll. Pammy and Bran were guarding our sleep in case more Forsworn came out during the night.

Our sleep was not disturbed and we could enjoy our breakfast together. Once we were done, we entered the place via the big iron door and found ourselves in a wide passage which was partially covered with ice. The gate was not locked, and once we had opened it, a couple of Forsworn who had been waiting behind attacked us. Pammy was ahead and took care of one of them, and T'mara killed the other one with her axe. I noticed two more Forsworn in a covered walkway further ahead, who had not yet noticed us. T'mara prepared her bow and I got my crossbow out, and on my signal we released bow and bolt at the same time, killing both of them. Following the path we found ourselves with a section of swinging blades ahead. A forsworn archer at the other end waited and obviously hoped that we'd succumb to the blades. However, a bolt from me killed the archer, and my nimble wife left her pack with me and ran through the swinging blades, timing the swings perfectly; at the other end she found a lever to stop the trap, and I followed her. A couple of rooms later I looked around and stepped forward, and suddenly there was a blast at my feet and something exploded, making me feel very cold for a moment. I was startled and stepped back quickly, but noticed that I had taken only minimal damage. T'mara looked at me and said:

"I am glad that you were first in here. That was a frost rune, and barely visible."

"I see" I replied. "That explains why I am almost unhurt, with my natural Nord resistance to frost."

"Yes" she responded, "but please be more careful anyway; the next rune could be a fire or shock rune, you know."

We entered the room again, this time carefully checking out the floor. We found a few additional runes but were easily able to avoid them, now as we knew what we were looking for. There were two doors out of the chamber – an unlocked one and a locked one, with a difficult looking lock, too. T'mara felt ready to accept the challenge and got to work with her agile paws; she had quite a number of lockpicks on her. It took her a few minutes, but when the lock finally clicked open, my wife proudly stated:

"That was a master level lock, and I only broke five lockpicks before I got it open!"

We carefully stepped through the door, followed some turns of a passage, crossed a covered bridge, and finally stepped through another door leading outside.

T'mara looked disappointed:

"Looks like we followed the wrong path and missed something. Let's head back again!"

I did not agree with her this time:

"Wait, my love. Master Arngeir said that we'd need to pass through the first section to get to our real target. Maybe the entrance to 'Hag's End' is around here? Let's search this place first at least."

We looked around and fond ourselves in some kind of valley between the mountains. At first glance at least, there seemed to be no way out. There was snow and ice all around us, and some isolated tree grew around the rims of the valley. Once we had moved ahead for a few minutes, we saw a huge fortress looking ahead, with multiple levels of stone, arches and bridges leading up to the typical structures of a Nordic ruin, somewhat similar to those on top of 'Bleak Falls Barrow'.

We were too far away to see if enemies were around, and thus we walked forward, later on joining the path of a small and fast moving river. The river sounds eliminated all potential noise from enemies, but Pammy and Bran would be able to give us some early warning with their sensitive noses. We found something soon indeed, but only the corpses of two frost trolls and a nirnroot plant. A few steps further T'mara claimed that she could see a number of archers on the first walkway further ahead, and there was no apparent path to circumvent them. As I knew that my crossbow had a better range than bows, even when shooting upwards, I estimated the maximum effective range and crouched down. The first bolt missed one of the archers, but as the enemy did not seek cover, the second one hit. The second archer looked around but could not see me, and he was hit with the next bolt. The third archer finally noticed that something was wrong and took cover, so that I waited. Five minutes later the head appeared again, and my next bolt was a full hit. No more heads showed and the first part of the path seemed to be clear, so that we now dared to move ahead.

After we had reached the top of the first flight of stairs, we noticed a camp further ahead, and we carefully moved to the side to get a better view. The outlook positions controlling the lower valley were now all cleared and we checked the corpses for loot, but the way ahead and up was guarded by a lot of Forsworn in the camp. They had not yet noticed us, but we needed a plan.

"Brute force may be difficult here" T'mara offered.

"Agreed" I replied. "But you know, the Forsworn are not known for their smartness. Maybe we can lure then away from the camp one by one?"

I found out that I had a clear long distance shot from one of the covered outlooks right into the camp, and I suggested that T'mara take cover with Bran and Pammy. Once she had done that, I equipped my sneak fortification ring and released the first bolt. As expected, at first nobody else noticed that something had happened – the Forsworn I had targeted had been on the side, and his body falling down went unnoticed. Only after the third kill a group realized that they were under attack, but they were unable to find out from where. As soon as the initial disturbance had abated, I could send a couple of more bolts, and finally some of the Forsworn guessed from which direction the attack had been coming from. A larger group moved in my direction, and I continued to fire, decimating their numbers quickly. When they got close to me, Pammy and Bran each attacked one of them and I killed the last one with my greatsword. Meanwhile, my wife had used the opportunity to approach the camp, and with Edric now swooping down, she eliminated the few enemies who had stayed there – this level was now clear.

However, there was another flight of stairs leading up, and when we got there, we found a large tent with three more Forsworn, one of them a briarheart. As all three of them were standing close together, T'mara shouted her '_YOL TOOR SHUL_' against the group, which badly hurt two of them. The briarheart, though, seemed to be at least partially resistant to magic and shouts and advanced towards us without hesitation. He raised his hands and cast a spell against us before I had time to raise a ward – a shock spell hit me first and them jumped over to my wife and to Pammy, doing additional damage. All three of us were literally shocked and almost out of action; the briarheart came close and was about to attack with his axe, while we were yet unable to defend ourselves – I only had a blurry view and felt close to collapsing – when Edric swooped down from the sky and raked his claws across the enemy. This gave us some time to retreat, while Bran jumped forward and helped to distract the briarheart. Fortunately, his two associates were also too dizzy to get involved, and I managed to drink a potion of healing and a potion of stamina and retreated further. T'mara had been hit after me with reduced force, and she was back in action quicker than I was – she had cast a healing spell on herself and had her big axe out, attacking the briarheart right from the front. With the frontal attack combined with Bran approaching from the side and Edric from above, the Forsworn was confused and did not know what to do first, which gave my wife the opportunity to swing her axe and do some more damage, retreating again immediately. By now I had recovered enough to also get involved again and started to release bolts, and our combined efforts eventually overcame the briarheart՚s strength, so that he fell down and perished.

"Wow," T'mara said, after we had also killed the two others, "that was a tough one!"

"Quite so" I confirmed while still coughing from exertion. "Let's check our injuries and rest before we move on, please."

We took advantage of the campfire which was still hot and roasted some of the meat we had with us, while a pot was used to cook leeks and cabbage; this served as our lunch, and we made ourselves comfortable for an hour or two to rest and relax.

_[Author's Notes: In TES IV – Oblivion, there is a quest - 'work is never done' - to collect calipers for a person in Bliss on the Shivering Isles._

_I may need to reduce my publishing frequency from weekly to biweekly, as I need more time to properly prepare the events coming up. Please rest assured that this story will still go on for some time, and I hope that you enjoy reading it.]_


	61. Chapter 61 - Hag's End

**Chapter 61: Hag's End**

_[17__th__ of Hearthfire – 2__nd__ of Frostfall 4E 202]_

When our stomachs were filled and our bodies healed and rested, we searched the place carefully. The camp did have a fully equipped smithing area with workbench, forge and anvil, and grindstone. One of the tents had a chest in it with a few sets of Forsworn armor and weapons and a few septims, and in another tent we found an apothecary satchel with some ingredients and a number of potions on a shelf close by. Once we had also searched the two small towers, we found an entrance leading into the mountain in the northeastern corner of the valley, and we deduced that this would be the way to move on, into the Nordic tomb Hag's End – no other path was seen leading out except this door and the one we had entered through.

Thus we entered through the door and started to follow the passage we found ourselves in. Pammy and Bran were sent scouting ahead, and after a few turns we encountered an iron door. Looking at each other we decided to switch into sneak mode before opening it, and we looked into a big hall. The ground floor had a few chairs and tables with food on them, and there were several platforms and walkways visible higher up, not accessible directly from the ground floor. The room was not empty, though – at least three Forsworn were close to the other side, and they had not noticed us yet. I got my crossbow out, and T'mara and I released our projectiles at the same time. My bolt killed one of the Forsworn, but my wife's arrow was stopped by another enemy's armor. We had now gained the attention of all inside and found ourselves under attack by a hagraven and a witch, and a Forsworn pillager and a Shaman came out from a side room to join in. Fortunately three of them came towards us in a tight group, and my wife applied her '_YOL TOOR SHUL_' fire shout, which killed the Shaman and hurt the others. Pammy went against the pillager, who was standing back and trying to find targets for his bow, and I now had my greatsword out and fought against the hagraven. T'mara supported with fire blasts, and we struggled for a minute or two, until I managed to decapitate the hagraven and now could help with the others.

Once we had cleared the room, we rested for a few minutes and tended our wounds, and then searched for loot. There wasn't a lot, just a few sabre cat pelts and mammoth tusks. Aide room had an alchemy table and some minor potions, and another side room was equipped as a bedroom and had some folded robes in a dresser.

In a corner there was a set of stairs going upwards, leading us into a short corridor and into a room with the floor partially covered in ice. The ice made me miss something, and when I stepped forward, cold blasted all around me. T'mara laughed:

"You stepped on a rune of frost again, my dear. Go on like that, and I won't allow you into our bedroll any longer!"

I tried to pay more attention, and when I took the next flight of stairs, I did notice a pressure plate and stepped around it. A short passage followed, ending with a closed door. We opened it and entered a larger room again. There was a throne with another hagraven sitting on it, with a few witches around her. T'mara reacted quickly, shouting fire against them, and we applied a similar strategy like below. This time, though, the hagraven teleported away and was gone for the moment, but at least we were able to quickly eliminate the witches.

One side of the room had a raised wooden bridge, and there were a few hags on the other side eagerly waiting to join the fight. As they did not bother to seek cover, my crossbow bolts found their targets easily, and we pushed the lever to lower the bridge.

"Did you see where the hagraven went to?" my wife asked.

"No, I did not – suddenly she was gone." I replied. "I am sure that we will encounter her again."

The bridge lead into another corridor ending at another door, allowing access to a room where two frostbite spiders and a hag waited for us. Pammy and Bran rushed ahead and eliminated the enemies almost without support. There was a fireplace close by, and we grabbed a key which had been placed on the mantle. Another corridor lead towards a closed and locked iron gate, with two more closed gates clearly visible ahead. We found that the key we had just grabbed was able to unlock the gate, and fortunately we waited for a few moments after we had opened the first gate – a nasty looking set of spears had been triggered to pierce those who might have entered right away. We followed the same procedure with the next gates, always waiting for a few seconds after opening a gate to see if traps were released, and eventually a small set of stairs lead into another large room.

A hagraven, maybe the one which had fled from below, a witch, a hag, and a pillager were waiting for us, but I noticed that there was a large oil slick in the center of the room, which they'd have to pass in order to get to us. While I started to shoot bolts, the enemies indeed approached in our direction, and when they were right on the slick, T'mara blasted fire forward. The effect was instantaneous and drastic – the witch and the pillager died right away, and the two others got hurt at least. We waited patiently for the fire to die and killed off the remaining enemies.

Searching the room revealed a pull chain behind a pillar, and using it opened another iron gate. Another set of stairs waited for us, and we entered a hall with some tables, an arcane enchanter, and a curved wall in the background. Even before I noticed my wife going into her usual trance; I suspected this to be the word wall we had been looking for, and while she was slowly moving the in that direction, I searched the room for loot, finding not much except a special looking shield; it was labeled 'Hrolfdir's Shield, owned by Igmund'. The shield belonged to the Jarl of the Reach? Really? Well, we could take it there when we next got to Markarth.

Once I was done. T'mara proudly told me that she had learned the first word of 'Slow Time', which would allow her to make everybody around expect for herself move slower. I had not found much loot, and I was a little curious about that – most places we had explored so far had some kind of 'boss chest' in the final room, which higher quality loot. Maybe we had not yet found the final room? Well, there was another door opposite from the one we had entered through, and this lead us outside again, onto a larger platform high above the valley. We were not alone, though; another hagraven waited for us, assisted by two Forsworn pillagers, a witch, and a couple of frostbite spiders. While Pammy and Bran ran ahead, T'mara blasted fire and I operated my crossbow. After releasing the third bolt, though, I was getting a little tired and distracted from all of the recent fighting, and the spider venom blasts from both spiders hit me right on the chest. This made me dizzy, and I had to sit down for a moment. Like through a haze I observed my wife and our two animals keeping up the fight, struggling specifically against the powerful hagraven, when my wife suddenly recalled that we were outside again and summoned her familiar. Edric rose and swooped down on the hagraven, which allowed T'mara to send more arrows and finally finished her off with her axe. Bran had killed the last spider, and we were done.

With concern in her eyes, my wife knelt down next to me and asked:

"How are you doing, my love?"

"I think that I got too much poison" I coughed.

My wife go a potion out and fed the liquid into me, and I felt better right away. We rested for an hour or so, and once I had recovered, T'mara showed me what she had found on a table and in a chest next to the able. There were a few high quality sets of armor, and number of filled soul gems, and a special dagger labeled 'Bloodthorn' with the enchantment of 'soul trap' and 'drain health'. In addition, she had found another chest hidden around a corner, and in there a set of hide boots labeled '**Predator's Grace'** with the special capability to fully muffle the sound of movement the wearer makes, while also increasing the rate of stamina regeneration by one percent.

"When we have we last slept?" T'mara suddenly asked.

I noticed that daylight had already gone and got her point: "Long ago. Why don't we use our bedroll out her on the platform right away?"

My wife nodded, looking tired. I put the bedroll and prepared a quick supper from cold supplies, and soon we cuddled with each other in our nice and comfy bedroll, with Pammy and Bran happily sitting next to us.

The next day greeted us with sunshine, and we felt fully rested and fit again.

"Time to get back to Solitude, I guess" my wife claimed.

"Indeed, my dear" I nodded.

Once we had eaten breakfast, we found a path down the mountain and to the south, where we soon encountered a path towards Dragon Bridge. We had lunch at the local inn and then walked up to Solitude again. While walking, T'mara mused:

"You know, with the peace plans coming up, we are likely to spend more time in Solitude in the future. Wouldn't it be nice to have our own home there rather than staying at the inn all of the time?"

I nodded and replied: "Good point, my dear. Last time I checked they had a nice house for sale; if it's still available, let's have a look."

Back in the city, we first went to the Blue Place. Jarl Elisif was quite happy to see us again and told us:

"This is perfect timing. Tullius and I have just finished writing our letters to Jar Ulfric, and we'd be much obliged if you could deliver them. Please make Ulfric understand that this is not a trap and that we are serious about it."

We both bowed and accepted the letters, and then we addressed the Jarl՚s steward, Falk Firebeard. He told us that a house was available right now, called 'Proudspire Manor':

"As a Thane of Solitude, you are entitled to purchase a home here in the city, of course. It goes for 25,000 septims – are you willing to pay that?"

We had more than enough money available for that, and I gladly paid. The steward also asked if I'd want to have additional equipment and furniture, and we decided on furnishing for the bedroom, kitchen, living room, patio, and the housecarl quarters and guestrooms. We skipped childrens' room and alchemy and enchanting station. The steward promised to have all of the completed when we were back in Solitude next time.

Finally, before leaving the palace, we went to see Sybille Stentor, the court wizard, in her rooms. She liked to hear that we had eliminated the vampires in 'Pinemoon Cave', and she said:

"Filthy creatures, those vampires, aren't they? Living in the darkness, like they do. So uncivilized. I prefer finery. Like this. Here, for your trouble. And I suppose I should show you a little about Illusion magic for free, shouldn't I?"

Both of us got a boost in our Illusion magic and a piece of minor jewelry. Out of politeness we asked a couple of more questions:

"If we may ask, for how long have you been court wizard here already?"

"I was a member of the court during the reign of Torygg՚s father. It was Torygg who appointed me to the position."

"So you were close to King Torygg?"

"Very. I helped raise him. Oh, I could not have been more proud to see Torygg on the throne. He made a fine king. A fine king…"

"Considering that, you still look quite young."

"I like to think I've aged well. I'm certainly wiser than I once was. And I know when one should speak... and when one should hold their tongue."

This was the sign for us to take our leave, and when we were out of the palace again, T'mara asked:

"Something is odd about her. Sybille Stentor seems to be a Breton, but Bretons have about normal human age spans. If she has already helped raising King Toryyg, she can't be that young any longer. Maybe are some potions she knows about to make one look much younger?"

"That's possible, too" I replied. "However, the main reason is that she is a vampire."

"What? A Vampire? And she is accepted at court?"

"My love, not all vampires are bad. I have worked with the Dawnguard for some time, and while vampires are a general threat, some of them are benign, like feeding only from animals or at least from willing humans. Sybille has probably put a mild spell on her environment so that most people do not really noticed her status or do not care at least, but I have found out anyway. She has indeed worked at the court for a long time, and as far as I know, her reputation is blameless."

That clearly gave my wife something to think about while we walked back to the inn.

For this night we stayed in the inn again, and after breakfast on the next day we started our trip to Windhelm and deliver the letters.

"Which way would you want to take this time?" I asked.

"You know, we have been on our feet that much recently, let's take a carriage this time."

Down at Katla՚s farm a carriage was waiting. The driver was a sturdy looking Nord and introduced himself as 'Thaer'; he asked:

"Where do you want to go?"

"Windhelm, if that's all right."

"My carriage is the safest way to travel – jump on in."

We did as he suggested and relaxed in the wagon. There already was another passenger, a young Nord woman, whom I had seen in the palace once or twice. While the carriage started rolling, the woman introduced herself as Erdi, former maid at the palace.

"So, are you going on vacation or so?" my wife asked her.

She shook her head: "No, I quit my job, You see, too many people around there disliked me, specifically the other maid, Una. I heard her saying to others once or twice: 'I'm pleased when the palace is clean, I'm pleased when the beds are made on time, I'm pleased when Erdi isn't around. Most of those don't happen very often.' My work was never good enough for her, too."

"Oh, that's such a pity. What are you going to do now?"

"I have been told that they are looking for another maid at the palace in Windhelm, and I want to see if I can get the job."

"So, do you have any further plans for the future, besides being a maid?"

The young Nord mused: "Some time ago I made a wish in the town well; oh, does it spoil the wish if I tell? But anyway, sometimes I dream that a brave knight in shining armor will come and take me away, and of course he will fall in love with me. Nothing like that happened in Solitude, so maybe Windhelm will do better."

We enjoyed more pleasant conversation with the maid until we arrived in Whiterun two days later. We needed to stop here for the night and make sure the Jarl agreed to our plans of having a peace conference at Dragonsreach. That turned out not to be a problem, and we continued our trip to Windhelm on the next day, together with Erdi.

When we arrived int the capital of Eastmarch, we moved into out Windhelm home 'Hjerim' for the night, which we had purchased after solving the murder case some time ago. For this night we offered a guestroom to Erdi, promising that we'd take her into the palace on the next day.

We did not have a local housecarl and thus had to prepare breakfast on our own, after Erdi had quickly purchased some food in the market. Once done with that, we walked over to the Palace of the Kings and entered. First we approached the steward, Jorleif:

"Jorleif, nice to see you again. Say, is that position for a maid still open?"

"Sure is, my Thanes. Why are you asking?"

"This lady with us, Erdi, may want to apply for the position, and we suggest that you give her a chance."

"Hm" he said and turned towards Erdi: "So, do you think that you can do such a job?"

"I have worked as a maid in the Blue Palace in Solitude for a few years, and I am looking forward to work here in Windhelm."

"Good enough for know. I'll get you started, and we'll see how it works out in a few weeks. The Jarl has some demands, and if you don't clean properly, he is likely to notice, though."

We addressed Jorleif again: "We will need some time to talk to the Jarl. When is he going to be available?"

"He is out right now inspecting the troops together with Galmar" the steward told us, "but his schedule looks clear afterwards. I am sure that he's willing to find some time to talk to two of his Thanes."

"All right" I nodded. "We will just wait for him here."

Jorleif now asked Erdi to follow him so that he could introduce her to the rooms and to her duty, and my wife and I took a seat at the large table. Wuunferth the Unliving, the court wizard, stopped by for a while. We talked about this and that, including the value of weapons and magic in battle, and his view was that:

"Strength and steel are well and good, but magic is the true power in this world. A strong sword-arm wins battle, but a keen mind wins wars."

He might be right about that, but I replied: "I see your point, but as have seen with the students at the College of Winterhold a few times, having knowledge of both fields is not bad at all. You see, if your weak sword-arm makes you lose a battle and maybe your life, you don't have a living mind any longer to winds a war."

At that time Jarl Ulfric returned from the troop inspection. He greeted us with a warm smile and welcome and guided us into his war room, and after exchanging a few words, we handed over the letters from Jarl Elisif and General Tullius. We waited about twenty minutes for him to read them carefully, and we saw his mind working, trying to process the content. Eventually he asked:

"What do you think? Is this a real genuine offer or rather a trap or a fake?"

"We believe that this is genuine. We had a longer talk with Jarl Elisif, and she seems to be serious. Both her and the general have realized that the civil war cannot be easily won by one side. The empire seems to be unlikely to send more troops without good reason, and most people are tired from the war. If Skyrim can gain peace with conditions acceptable for everyone, this would be great for both sides. We do believe that the empire may even be willing to make some concessions in order to achieve that, or so we have been told at least."

"Yes, but what if General Tullius makes it a trap anyway?"

"My Jarl," I stated seriously, "If this turns out to be a trap despite everything we have learned so far, both the Dragonborn and I will stand at your side and turn against those who have lied so blatantly. Also, Jarl Balgruuf the Greater will certainly make sure that everything is all right, and he is a man of his word, as you know."

Jarl Ulfric nodded, and after a while he said:

"Please, give me a couple of days to sleep on it and return to hear my decision then."

We bowed to him and left the war room, leaving the palace and strolling through the city. Not willing to get ourselves distracted with talks and potential tasks, we soon left and went for a quick visit to the hot springs, this area being quite close to the city. Well, close was relative, we had to walk a few hours, but we reached our favorite spot in early afternoon and indulged in the hot water right away. As the Jarl wanted to take two days, we could sleep out here twice and head back in the early morning of the third day. This was quite fine for us, and we relaxed in the hot water for an hour or two on that day, and for most of the day, or as long as our skin could take it, on the next.

Just at sunrise on the third day we walked back to the city of Windhelm and entered the Palace of the Kings in late morning. Jarl Ulfric already awaited our visit and told us right away:

"After careful consideration I have decided to accept the offer for peace talks. Galmar is not fully convinced, but he will have to trust me on that. If there's real chance to achieve peace without having to sacrifice everything we have fought for so far, we owe it to the citizens of Skyrim to give it a chance, at least."

Both T'mara and I slowly nodded, and the Jarl continued:

"I plan to send a courier right away to let Jarl Elisif know about that, and I'd be honored to travel to Whiterun with both of you."

We bowed to him and were glad that he had decided like that. The courier was sent within a few minutes, taking a prepared letter from the Jarl with him, and we were asked to be ready in the morning of the next day, to travel together with Jarl Ulfric and some guards. Galmar, the Jarl՚s trusted advisor and one of his best friends, would stay behind and be in charge, and Ralof, my old friend, was going to be commander of the few guards traveling with us. Wuunferth, the court wizard, was also going to travel with us; he appreciated the opportunity to exchange knowledge with other wizards he'd meet.

The journey was different from our normal ways of traveling. We took horses rather than carriages, or at least the couple of carriages going with us only had some additional luggage on them. Meals were prepared in pleasant company, and none of the guards shied away from talking with all of us, including the Jarl. Ulfric did not claim special favors such as eating alone in his tent, but he ate his meals with all of us seated around a big campfire, and he was available for everybody to talk to if needed.

When we left Stormcloak controlled territory and entered the Hold of Whiterun, hold guards seeing and stopping us were quite concerned about a potential invasion, but T'mara and me as well known Thanes being with the group appeased their worries.

As soon as we had reached the city and Jarl Balgruuf had officially welcomed his colleague, Jarl Ulfric and his court wizards were guided into the best guest quarters in the Dragonsreach, whereas his Stormcloak guards guards were assigned a couple of rooms in the guard barracks.

A couple of days later Jarl Elisif and General Tullius arrived and were assigned proper quarters as well.

_[Author's Notes: I'd really appreciate to get a little bit of feedback in a review!]_


	62. Chapter 62 - The Whispering Lady

**Chapter 62: The Whispering Lady**

_[3__rd__ – 9__th__ of Frostfall 4E 202]_

The next morning started with bright sunshine, and we assembled in the big war room in Dragonsreach. Jarl Ulfric represented the Stormcloaks, General Tullius spoke for the Imperials, and Jarl Elisif, Jarl Balgruuf, T'mara and I were present with more neutral positions.

Officially Jarl Elisif was a supporter of the Empire, specifically as Ulfric had killed her husband, but on the other hand she sympathized with some of the Stormcloak goals and believes, so that she probably found herself in a difficult position.

The local Jarl, in his role as host, opened the discussion once all of us had arrived:

"I hope that you all have slept well and had a good breakfast, and that you don't lack any amenities here in my city. Once again, welcome to Whiterun and to Dragonsreach, and I am proud and happy to be hosting this conference."

Most of us nodded and nobody gave a sign that something might be lacking, so that Jarl Balgruuf the Greater continued his introduction:

"This is a historical moment, indeed. Since the Civil War started in Skyrim many years ago, I do not believe that there has ever been a serious opportunity for peace before. We all know that both sides in the Civil War have some justification. On one hand, the Empire guarantees safety and upholds the White-Gold Concordat, which it needs to in order to keep peace with the Aldmeri Dominion. On the other hand, this forced the people of Skyrim to change their lives, for instance by not being allowed to pray to Talos and the Nine."

"There is more to that, as I have to mention" the Jarl continued. "Some Stormcloaks push the slogan 'Skyrim for the Nords!', but recently even Jarl Ulfric has realized, I believe, that other races also have their place in our country."

Ulfric Stormcloak nodded when he heard this.

"Today's talks have been triggered by General Tullius realizing that the Empire cannot defeat the Stormcloaks without getting many more troops from Cyrodiil, which the Emperor is not currently willing to send, and Jarl Ulfric understanding that even if he managed to win the war, he might risk the wrath of the Thalmor and the Aldmeri Dominion. All of us know that Skyrim won't stand a chance if the Aldmeri Dominion for some reason decided to wage war against our country, and even the Empire is not ready for that, at least yet. I believe that we all would like to see Skyrim united again, at least."

The opening statement started a lively discussion, which went on for quite some time, and eventually General Tullius made a statement:

"I have good contacts to the Imperial City in Cyrodiil, and I have been sending messages on our situation for a long time. Recently, a courier from the Emperor has delivered a return message authorizing me to negotiate special terms for Skyrim."

"What kind of special terms?" the Jarl of Eastmarch wanted to know.

"You know about the status Morrowind has in the Empire?" General Tullius asked back. When Jarl Ulfric nodded, he explained further:

"Morrowind was able to negotiate special terms and partial autonomy a long time ago, and the Emperor is willing to consider something like a similar status for Skyrim now, if some conditions are met."

Jarl Ulfric had heard rumors about that, as he admitted, but it was something different to get it confirmed by the General.

At this time, T'mara and I were excused, as for the next few days only the Jarls and General Tullius would be discussing details and options. We were asked to stay in the area, though, if we were needed for some specific points or question.

"Wow!" my wife exclaimed when we left Dragonsreach and ambulated down to Breezehome. "It looks like there's really a chance for peace this time." On our way we paid a visit to Jorrvaskr, and had a chat with Marine first and Kodlak afterwards. Kodlak told us:

"The young girl is really amazing. She has actually been able to teach us moves we did not have a clue one could perform, although some of those moves only work with light armor or no armor at all, something most Companions would not even consider."

I nodded: "Yes, I have seen some of her moves."

Kodlak continued: "I have not discussed this with the other Circle members yet, but I feel tempted to call her into the Circle as a new member quite soon, despite her youth."

"That's going to be a new one – a fourteen year old girl, and a Redguard rather than a Nord."

"True" Kodlak nodded. "I know that Aela is quite fond of her and so is Ria, but Vilkas may have an issue with my plans. Farkas will probably go along as soon as he learns that I am convinced."

"Do you think that she will take the werewolf blood?" I asked further. Very few people outside the Circle knew about that, but my wife and I did. I had suspected something for a long time and later on observed a few changings, and my wife had learned during her initiation quest with Farkas, when Farkas had been compelled to change in order to meet the Silver Hand threat.

Kodlak shook his head: "No, I do not have a clue if she will accept it or not. I will call her into the Circle even if she does not, though. It's about time to stop that mandatory requirement, even if Aela will not see it that way."

Once we were out of the building again, we were unsure about what to do to pass the time. Below the beautiful Gildergreen tree, a girl was sitting on a bench and asked for a coin or two when we walked along. We had probably seen her before a few times, but never paid attention. I gave her a few coins, and she was very grateful:

"Oh, thank you! Divines bless your kind heart, mister!"

I could not resist the temptation to ask he why she was begging, and I was told:

"It's... it's what Brenuin said I should do. He's the only one that's been nice to me since... since mama..." she pause briefly and then continued "...since she died. My aunt and uncle took over our farm and threw me out. They said I wasn't good for anything. I wound up here, but... I I don't know what to do. I miss her so much..."

When we were out of hearing distance, T'mara pulled me down on a bench and asked:

"We have talked about children of our own before, right?"

I nodded: "Yes dear, we have, but we postponed the topic."

"I still feel too young for kids of my own" my wife continued to talk, "but now, with the Dragon Crisis behind us, I wonder if we could not adopt one or two kids. Our home is big enough, and we have plenty of housecarls who will be taking care of them when we're not there."

I nodded again: "Yes, that would work, I believe. Do you have that girl over there in mind?"

"Yes I do" she confirmed. "She pities me, and I have seen here before. I actually talked to her some time ago, and her name is Lucia. She seems to be properly behaving, and we could ask her right now if she'd like to be adopted."

"All right, let's do it!"

We walked over again, and asked a few more questions, and she eventually asked:

"You are so nice to me; can you be my parents?"

"Yes, we could adopt you if that's all right with you."

"Really? Do you... do you have a place where I could live?"

"Yes we do; it is called 'Riverside Lodge', and it is along the road to Riverwood from here."

"Oh, wow! Are you... are you sure? You really wouldn't mind?"

"No, not at all – that's why we are asking. You seem to be a nice girl, and we'd love to have you around."

"Yea! Thanks! I promise I will be the best daughter ever! I need to get my things and say goodbye to everyone. I'll meet you at home. Thanks! Thanks so much!"

So, we had a daughter. After signing a document provided by the steward in Dragonsreach, we made our way to Riverside Lodge in the afternoon and found that our new daughter had safely arrived. She was happy about her new home, and seeing that her room had three more beds, Lucia asked me:

"Papa, Mama, do you have plans for more children?"

"We might" I replied, not quite sure about such future plans. But I understood that it might be nice for Lucia to have a sister or brother here. Having playmates of roughly the same age seemed to be a good thing, and I would want to talk to T'mara about potentially adopting another girl sooner or later, I thought.

On the next day, right when we had walked back to Whiterun, a courier found us and called us into Dragonsreach. We were asked if we had an idea how other Jarls would react to a proposal for peace.

"Well", I replied, "I have not had close contact with all Jarls, but let me share what I think. Jarl Siddgeir of Falkreath seems to be mainly concerned about his own well being, and he does not care too much about his hold. Honestly, he is quite young for the job, and his uncle would probably do better than him. However, having peace rather than war should get him more opportunities for trade and personal enrichment, so I expect him to go for it. Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone of Morthal sometimes has visions, but I believe that she truly cares for her hold. If General Tullius tells her that we're going to have peace, she will no doubt agree. Jarl Laila Law-Giver of the Rift is a little bit strange, and she seems to ignore some serious problems in her hold and her city. Replacing her with Maven Black-Briar, though, would only make things worse. If Jarl Ulfric personally tells her, she will most likely go along. Finally, Jarl Korir of Winterhold has a big issue with the College there, and he does nothing at all to restore the city. I do not know enough about the other Jarls."

The others pondered my statement for some time, and I finally boldly suggested:

"If you really want good advice, replace Siddgeir of Falkreath with his uncle again, and replace Korir in Winterhold with Kraldar, and both holds will benefit greatly."

Jarl Elisif told us that they were probably going to call a Moot, a meeting of all Jarls of Skyrim, both to discuss peace plans and to elect a new High King of Skyrim. The Moot would be held in Solitude, in the official capital of Skyrim. With that, T'mara and I were dismissed again.

Before we went on, we decided to meet up with Eorlund Grey-Mane at the Skyforge. Quite some time ago we had delivered some of the dragon loot to him, namely bones, scales, claws and teeth. We wanted to learn if he was able to use those ingredients to build something from them, specifically armor and weapons, and he told us:

"Even with the Skyforge here, working on those items is extremely challenging and difficult. However, I have at least found out that both light and heavy armor can be done, plus a number of weapons. With all of the material I got from you, I have plenty for experiments, and it should not take me too long to get it done. I guess that you, T'mara, prefer the light armor, correct?"

My wife nodded, and Eorlund now looked at me, so that I told him:

"For myself, I am not sure. Armor weight is not a problem for me, but I dislike the sneaking penalty heavy armor usually has. I could either get heavy armor and apply sneaking and muffling enchantments, or use light armor and enchant it for more protection."

"I understand your predicament" the weapon smith replied. "What about that – I will make you one set each, so that you can decide later."

We were both happy with what we had learned and took our leave from him for now.

On the next day, during a break, Jarl Balgruuf talked to my wife and me in a corner and mentioned that his children had been behaving strangely lately. He said:

"My youngest son, Nelkir, worries me. He's become quite a dark child. I don't know what to do with him. He was always a quiet lad, but lately... something has changed. He's become brooding, even violent. He won't say a word to me, but I don't know how I upset him. If you could speak to him and draw out the truth, I would be immensely grateful."

"Of course, my Jarl" T'mara nodded, "we will talk to him."

Soon we found Nelkir wandering the hall and approached him, and T'mara addressed him:

"Nelkir, do you have a moment? Your father suggested that we talk to you."

"So the disgusting pig sent you to bother me? One day, I'll tear his face apart so he can leave me alone. My father doesn't know anything about me. But I know about him. And about the war. More than he might think."

"Wow, hold on – that's no way to talk about your father! What do you think you know?"

"I know that he still worships Talos. That he hates the Thalmor almost as much as the Stormcloaks do. That he worries about being chased from Whiterun. That he... that I'm... that I don't have the same mother as my brother and sister."

Hm, I did not know much about the Jarl՚s family. There were some rumors going around about him been married twice, but practically nobody mentioned any details. Meanwhile, my wife asked on:

"How do you know these things?"

"You know, this castle is really old. Lots of places nobody's been in a long while. Places where you can overhear things. See things. And the Whispering Lady."

Whispering Lady? I had not heard about that one before, but we'd better learn about her:

"Who is the Whispering Lady, Nelkir?"

"She won't tell me her name, but I've gotten good at listening to keyholes. At the door in the basement, I hear her talking to me. I thought I was caught, but she started telling me even more secrets. But I can't open the door."

"Do you mind telling us where this door is?"

"In the basement. Trust me, you'll see it. I bet she'll talk to you, though, with you being Dragonborn and all!"

With the Jarl՚s permission we searched the keep's basement, and indeed we found an odd looking wooden door, which which was locked. Once we were there and wondered if this was the right door, a voice whispered behind it:

"At last. I've been waiting for someone more fit to carry out my will. The child is spirited, but lacks... agency."

The child lacked agency? What kind of an expression was that, specifically regarding a child? I already started to dislike the voice and whoever or whatever was behind it.

"Is there someone behind the door?" my wife asked.

"Regrettably, I cannot reach your plane so directly. But I forgive you for not knowing who I am. Few hear my whispers anymore. I am Mephala, the Lady of Whispers. I tug at the web of connections between mortals. Love, hatred, loyalty, betrayal. The boy was good at sussing out secrets. You, I expect to take a more active role."

Mephala, the Daedric princess – of course. My suspicion grew, and my wife looked at me and whispered:

"Do you know something about Mephala, dear?"

I whispered back: "She is a Daedric princess, and known to seduce and interfere in mortal affairs, mostly for her own amusement. Let's be extra careful!"

T'mara called back through the door:

"What do you want us to do?"

"First, you must open this door. A piece of my power has been locked away behind it, and even my eyes cannot see past the seals. I'd much rather it be in the hands of an ambitious and talented person such as yourself."

We pondered just ignoring the door and leaving, but the door was a potential trap, and we did not know who else might be coming down here and run into it. T'mara thus asked:

"What could the boy not do?"

"As I said, the boy is good at sussing out secrets, but the corruptibility of children is ultimately too limited for my purposes. You, though, I expect will prove far more malleable."

"We are not so easily molded as you may think!"

"You may think so. But in the end, you mortals will always flit like fire with the winds of your desires and conveniences. And those winds issue from my whispers."

"How do we open the door?"

"The whole of Whiterun is ripe with paranoia and tensions. The Jarl՚s court is right to fear the power I hold behind this door. The Jarl trusts few, and they will be his undoing. The dark child knows of what I speak. Let him guide your path."

We understood that we needed to the Jarl՚s youngest son again and did so. He admitted that both his father and the court wizard were supposed to have a key, so that we talked to the Jarl again during one of the next breaks in the talks.

"We have found a locked door I the basement, and a voice behind it tells us that the Daedric Princess Mephala waits behind. Nelkir says that you might have the key."

"I do" he confirmed, "but are you sure that you want to open that door?"

"We are not" I told him. "However, if we just leave it as it is, Mephala will probably keep spinning her web around your children and maybe other occupants of Dragonsreach. We believe that it's best to approach her carefully and try to neutralize the threat."

"I understand" he nodded and handed over the key. "Yes, I'd be grateful if you could do this."

We went down into the basement again and found that the key worked. Once the door was open, we stepped a small room with a sword and a book resting on a table. The book, titled '_Admonition Against Ebony_', had clear words of warning:

_To anyone reading this: BEWARE THIS BLADE_

_It is hoped that the only people having access to this room should be the Jarl of Whiterun and his trusted wizard. If anyone else is reading this, please understand the magnitude of your folly, turn around, and never even speak of this room or this blade to anyone._

_It has corrupted and perverted the desires of great men and women. Yet its power is without equal – to kill while your victim smiles at you. Only a daedra most foul could have concocted such a malevolent and twisted weapon. But it appears that all who wield it end up with the crazed eyes of those wild men who roam the hills chattering with rabbits._

_It is not to be trifled with. Not even the hottest fires of the Skyforge could melt it; indeed the coals themselves seemed to cool when it was placed within. We cannot destroy it, and we would not have it fall into the hands of our enemies. So we keep it, hidden, dark and deep within Dragonsreach, never to be used._

_Woe be to any who choose to take it._

The voice, now known to us to be Mephala՚s, told us that the blade was called 'Ebony Blade', and that it required getting stained with what she called 'the blood of treachery'. She clearly expected us to use the blade to kill people who trusted us to restore the blade's full power yet again. We had no such intention, of course, but rather decided to use vague terms. I grabbed the blade and the book, and we took our leave from the room and the Daedric Princess, locking the door behind us again.

Once we were up in the hall again, T'mara looked at me:

"What are we going to do with the evil blade?"

"We are going to find a place where we can safely bury it, so that hopefully nobody will ever find it again."

"Won't Mephala be angry about that, and will her influence here in Whiterun cease?"

"Not sure about that, my dear" I replied. "I guess that we will have to wait and see."

On the next day, we asked Farengar for assistance, and once the Jarl had approved of our plan, he went with us. Far outside of the city, we had located a cave which used to be inhabited by bandits, and we placed the blade and the book in its deepest chamber. Outside again, we used our strongest spells to block the cave entrance both with huge rocks and magical barriers, until the court wizard was happy.

Back in Dragonsreach, during breakfast on the next day which we were invited to, Jarl Balgruuf happily told us that his kids, specifically Nelkir, had improved in attitude and were slowly getting back to normal. He did not have much time to elaborate as the peace talks were going on, but he appreciated our help in that matter.

A couple of days later the talks were done, and they had reached an agreement and a proposal to be put forward during the Moot. The Moot would be held in two weeks in Solitude, so that all Jarls had sufficient time to travel there and attend. Following my suggestion, Dengeir of Stuhn from Falkreath Hold and Kraldar from Winterhold were also going to be invited. T'mara and I were asked to be there was well, as we might want to show our support at least, and of course we agreed.

On that evening T'mara and I discussed how to spend the time until we were supposed to show up in Solitude. After various proposals had been laid on the table, my wife suggested:

"I really would like to visit the college again and see how Glacier is doing. Can't we do that first?"

"Fine with me" I replied. "Let's travel to Winterhold tomorrow and visit her."

_[Author's Notes: Lucia is usually the first child I adopt when I play; I spend a lot of time in Whiterun, and she usually gets my attention first. What's your favorite child for adoption?_

_It's about time to do something with the dragon items, as one of my readers – Ted Hsu – already reminded me earlier._

_BTW: In a few more chapters Timotheus and T'mara will have completed their current tasks and get a chance to rest and relax. I have already started to write what their next assignment is going to be – this story is not yet close to the end.] _


	63. Chapter 63 - Unexpected events

**Chapter 63: Unexpected events at the College of Winterhold**

_[10__th__ – 15__th__ of Frostfall 4E 202]_

After a quick breakfast on the next day, we hurried down to the Whiterun stables and jumped on a carriage to get to Winterhold. We – my wife and I – had walked the whole distance several times before, and today we decided to take it easy for a change. Only briefly interrupted by one dragon, three bears, a couple of ice wraiths, and a larger group of bandits, which we all took care of, observed by the grateful carriage driver, we arrived in Winterhold on the late afternoon of the second day, with the usual stop in between in Nightgate Inn, and we made our way up to the College right away.

When we had crossed the bridge and passed the outer gate to enter the main courtyard, we found the senior mages in a state of excitement and confusion. Mirabelle Ervine told us that Ancano, the Altmer mage and Thalmor agent, had somehow managed to seal himself inside the 'Hall of Elements', where the special artifact from Saarthal had been placed. T'mara and Tolfdir had found this artifact months ago, and Tolfdir and the Arch-Mage had moved it into the College for further study at that time. Ancano had not announced his intentions nor had he asked permission for any experiments with the artifact, and a few days ago the mages had found access to the hall blocked by some kind of very powerful force field.

"Ancano. He's in there, doing... something." Savos Aren told us; his facial expression showed a lot of stress and anger. "We don't know what exactly, though. We've been trying to get in for some time, and as soon as we manage, I will have his head for this, I assure you."

I could not see Glacier anywhere around, and the Arch-Mage asked T'mara and me into his quarters to provide an explanation:

"A few days after you had left, an emissary from the mysterious Psijic Order showed up and insisted to talk to Glacier, without elaborating. I assume that he must have done so, and he left without any further explanation. Soon Glacier started to ask odd questions, mostly about the Augur of Dunlain."

"The Augur of Dunlain?" T'mara asked. "Who or what is this?"

"Once, long before we all lived, he was a brilliant student, and later an accomplished wizard. He delved into magic in a way none had seen before. But, I think, he became too focused on just how much power he could acquire, and that's what led to the accident. A failed magical experiment transformed him into some kind of non-corporeal entity, or so we have been told. Now referred to as the Augur, he resides beneath the College in the Midden Dark as a glowing ball of energy. He can still communicate, and it is said that he provides words of wisdom to those willing to listen. I have visited him a couple of times, actually."

"Do you know if Glacier met this entity?"

"It appears so, yes. About a week ago she approached me and asked about the 'Staff of Magnus' and where to find this specific artifact. None of us know where it is located, but it just so happens that a group from the Synod asked about it recently, and they were planing to look into the Nordic ruin of Mzulft, southeast of Windhelm and east of the hot spring area. I pointed this out and allowed her to take some of her fellow students with her. Normally I am more cautious with student excursions, but she managed to get into contact both with the Augur and the Psijic Order. I have not had such a promising and fascinating young student here in the college for quite some time, and I have a gut feeling that her mission is very important. As a matter of fact, her group should be back any time now."

I also asked about Lydia and Inigo and learned that they were both out on an extended field trip, together with a group of other students, and they were not expected back for a few more days.

Filled with this all of those of news, we grabbed a quick supper and retired to our room and eventually managed to sleep, cuddled together in our narrow bed.

On the next day, just before lunch, an exhausted group of students returned to the College: Glacier, J'zargo, Brelyna, and Onmund. As soon as the Redguard girl saw us, she hugged my wife and me tightly and seemed to be very happy to see us, and we were greeted by the other as well.

We had lunch together with them, Savos Aren, and Mirabelle, and Glacier told us what she had experienced and found at Mzulft:

"You heard about the events here, right?"

My wife nodded: "Indeed, we heard about that. I find it quite interesting that you had an encounter with somebody from the Psijic Order. I met one of those in Saarthal when I found the artifact, and I believe that your encounter is a sign that you have an important role in current and upcoming events. But please, let us know what you found at Mzulft."

"Yes, sure. Right at the entrance over there," the young Redguard reported, "we found a dying Synod member, and his last words were about a crystal and a so-called 'oculory', and that we should find someone called Paratus. We went into the ruins and started to look around, and deeper down we encountered Falmer, some of them quite strong ones. Fortunately, I had some knowledge on where to go and could circumvent some of the dangerous places, and we were able to find the crystal. Once we even had to face one of those Dwarven Centurions, but there was no reason to panic, as there was a passage to hide in where the mechanism could not get into, so that we could attack and defeat it from a distance."

The way Glacier reported all of that almost made us feel like this had been a walk in the park, but she also confirmed honestly:

"Getting through all of those places would have been totally impossible for me alone without my good friends. Specifically J'zargo՚s improved fire scrolls helped a lot."

The Khajiit seemed to get a little bit taller when he heard that and replied:

"The young Redguard girl had an almost psychic knowledge about where to go and when we'd encounter dangerous enemies, and J'zargo would have been lost without her. The other students and this Khajiit were happy to be along and to assist."

This was less like his usually cocky attitude, and I liked to hear that they got along so well, and to a certain extent the other students seemed to have accepted Glacier's leadership role, which was surprising considering that she was by far the youngest in the group. The Redguard girl seemed to be destined for something here.

Brelyna agreed to J'zargo՚s assessment:

"J'zargo is right about that. We would have been lost without Glacier, but with her guiding us, we were a pretty good team."

"Anyway," Glacier continued, "eventually we found our target, guarded by another Synod man, Paratus Decimius. He was surprised and delighted that we had the crystal with us, and he helped us to insert into the mechanism we found in the next large room."

Looking at T'mara and me she said: "It was another one of those odd devices, somewhat like the one down in Blackreach. We took some time to align it properly, but this time, though, we did not get an Elder Scroll, but a large map on one of the walls with locations highlighted, and Paratus started to get angry."

"Really? Why that?"

"He accused us like this: 'So, what is it? What have you done? Did you know what we were attempting? Are you here to make sure your plan worked, that our efforts have been for nothing? You and your College have ruined years of my work, I've lost colleagues and friends to the Falmer; whatever you have at that College has completely interfered with out work here.' I did not understand at first what his problem was, but I soon had a suspicion, as the college here was one of the marked places."

"In order to cut the discussion short I told him that something odd was going on at the College we had no control over, and this might interfere with the device's operation. He looked at me like crazy when I had explained, but calmed down and asked what we had at the College. I told him that we had the 'Eye of Magnus' there and that a crazy mage was doing odd things with it, certainly not with the sanction of the Arch-Mage, and he started to mumble some more."

"Why should an artifact we have here at the College impact a machinery in Mzulft?" T'mara wanted to know. "Mzulft is not even close to Winterhold, is it?"

"Magical waves are almost without range limits" Glacier tried to explain, "and some special devices like the oculory there can detect them."

Both T'mara and I were far outside of our knowledge here, but Glacier seemed to be comfortable with all that. I was not sure if even Savos Aren understood that, but if he did not, he did not let it show; he had a reputation to maintain, after all.

Glacier continued her report: "Eventually the Synod operator said that the result made more sense now that he knew about the 'Eye of Magnus' being here at the college, and he said something like this: 'I can't explain the details. That would be giving away many secrets the Synod have learned over the years. Also, I doubt you'd be able to comprehend the details. Have you ever seen the orrery in the Imperial City, in the Arcane University? It was the inspiration for this idea. Instead of projecting the sky, we project all of Tamriel, and then harness the latent energies to overlay the positions of… What's important is that all of this work was designed to reveal to us sources of great magical power. Purely to help safeguard the Empire, of course. And yet, in the end, several locations are marked on the map, but only two of them distinguish themselves by being highlighted most brightly – one is your College, and the other one, well, that can only be Labyrinthian.' When I looked at the shown map myself, I could see and verify his findings."

"Harness latent energies and all of that?" my wife asked with some doubt showing on her face. "Do you really understand all of that?"

"Actually, I do" Glacier replied. "A world with magic, like Tamriel, has magical energy flowing around everywhere. Smart devices can be constructed to tap into that and take advantage of the waves connecting magical placed and artifacts, and the oculory, same as the orrery in the Imperial City, seems to be able to do that quite well. Properly tuned, those devices can highlight locations of other magical devices, and it appears that the Synod experts did the tuning properly to show the location both for the 'Eye of Magnus' and the 'Staff of Magnus'. Child's play once you know how to do it, really."

Considering that she was indeed still a child, or maybe more an adolescent, that even made some kind of sense, I thought. Maybe very young people indeed had a better chance to understand how all of that worked?

Meanwhile, Glacier continued: "Same with casting spells, by the way. There's no way a human mind and body can directly create enough energy for a real spell, but one can learn to tap into the magical energy around us and make it behave in a different way, like forming a ward around you or blasting against an opponent. When you get more experienced and more skilled, you simply learn how to control the latent magical energy more efficiently."

The Arch-Mage now looked uncomfortable, and I guessed that this was actually somewhat above his head now. Glacier's understanding of magic was really amazing, but I could not help wondering if she really understood all of that or if she was making up some parts. But anyway, Glacier had made an astonishing development from a shy girl who sometimes almost felt lost into a confident teenager knowledgeable on magical background like few others. She seemed to be in the right place here at the College.

"So, the 'Staff of Magnus' is in Labyrinthian?" Savos Aren now asked, neatly directing the attention to one of the more practical aspects.

"Yes, so it appears" Glacier nodded, "and it looks like we may need it to counter whatever Ancano is doing. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I had another conversation with a member from the Psijic Order when we left Mzulft. He told me that I had started a difficult and challenging path, but that it was the right one to pursue."

I nodded and suggested: "So, this means that an expedition into Labyrinthian needs to be kicked off, right?"

Glacier nodded, and so did the Arch-Mage and Mirabelle.

"As a matter of fact," the Redguard girl said, "the interior of that place is going to be quite challenging, and we are going to face a number of dangerous opponents, the final one being a Dragon Priest."

Nobody felt like asking how she knew that, and addressing me she continued: "Now, as you and T'mara are here, can I talk you into helping us out with that quest, please? If not, I'll ask the Arch-Mage to send a few mages with us, but I'd really prefer to go with the two of you."

I looked at my wife, and we did a quick calculation in our heads. Once we were both happy, I replied:

"I think that we can do this. We need to be in Solitude in ten days, and Labyrinthian is in the right direction anyway. Assuming that we do not spend more than three or four days inside, that should be all right."

"Great!" Glacier was happy to hear that. "We should be done inside within one or two days, so no problem."

"Arch-Mage, sir" she addressed Savos Aren now, "Will it be all right that my three fellow students come with us again?"

"You have started this together," the Arch-Mage responded, "and you should continue together. They are free to go with you, if they dare."

As expected, all of the other students immediately voted to go with us again, when we asked them later on.

Almost everybody opted to rest for one day, but as it turned out we did not get all day to rest. Just after breakfast on the next morning Tolfdir came in, almost running, and excitedly told us that the city of Winterhold seemed to be under attack by unknown forces; all available mages and students were asked to help. Well, at least we had been able to finish eating.

Once on the bridge, we met Faralda, and we could already see blueish flying things circling around, looking a little bit like ice wraiths. Faralda categorized them as 'magic anomalies' - fast moving balls of energy able to deliver frost damage. When we had attacked and defeated the first ones, we found that they left soul gems in their 'ghostly remains'. Working together, we soon defeated all of the anomalies, and the city was safe for now. Of course we heard a few remarks from citizens blaming the college for the appearance of those anomalies.

Back at the College we discussed the cause for the magic anomalies to show up, and Tolfdir suggested:

"I believe that this was an effect of whatever Ancano is going with the 'Eye of Magnus'. He is likely to tamper with magical energies he does not fully understand, and the magic anomalies are side effects."

Glacier nodded, obviously agreeing with this assessment, and the rest of the day was spent with planing, packing, resting, and getting to bed early.

We started our trip to Labyrinthian on the morning of the next day after an early breakfast. For the first part of the journey the Arch-Mage had organized a boat for us, which got us to Dawnstar in less the one day. After staying there at the inn for one night, we took the road south on the next morning, and after some time we turned right towards 'Windward Ruins'. Soon after we had reached the remnant of an old Nordic place there and searched for potential loot, we encountered a Thalmor patrol on the road. While we tried to pass them, they must have recognized my wife, and one of them shouted:

"Look, the Dragonborn!"

The Thalmor leader promptly turned towards us and said:

"You are all under arrest for sympathizing with the Dragonborn!"

Well, this was not going to happen, of course. T'mara shouted her _'YOL TOOR SHUL'_ against a group of the Elves, I blasted fireballs and send Pammy ahead, and the other students supported us from the back. Within a few minutes, none of the Thalmor was alive any longer, and we searched the bodies for valuable loot. Onmund decided to take one of the Elven armors, and Brelyna took a few of the weapons, while J'zargo collected any scrolls he could find.

Around noon time we passed through the hamlet of 'Stonehills' and stopped to have a lunch break, and when we started to walk again, Brelyna let herself fall back to where T'mara and I were trailing the eager students, and she asked:

"Do you know how it is possible that this young Redguard teenager is so knowledgeable about magic in general and sometimes even psychic on events and locations? It both fascinates and scares me, and I hope that we are doing the right thing following her lead."

I thought about the proper response and finally told her my view on that, without revealing everything I knew:

"I can understand your concerns. T'mara and I do have some more background on the girl, but we are not privy to talk about it. Let me just say that there is a good reason for her being like that. My wife and I have spent quite some time with her and her twin cousin, and we are sure that she has a good heart and that her intentions are good ones, for the benefit of the entire College. We have talked it over with my friend, the Arch-Mage, and he trusts her as well."

Brelyna was relieved to hear that, and we encouraged her to also transfer my message to the other students.

When we were alone again, T'mara mused:

"I can understand her concern. If I did not know some more on Glacier's background, I'd also get confused and maybe worried."

I nodded and replied:

"Quite so. I find myself getting a little bit curious on where her path will lead her, and what all this 'Magnus' stuff is for. I would not really be surprised to find herself established as next Arch-Mage in a few years or even earlier than that, you know."

"And she would be doing well in that position, too, I believe" my wife added.

One hour later the road to Labyrinthian branched off the main road. Right at the junction a dragon roared high up in the air and started to swoop down on us, so that we had to switch into combat mode again. Well, a dragon did not pose a serious challenge any longer under normal conditions, but this one seemed to be more powerful than most of the others we had encountered so far, except Alduin, of course. The attack also proved that not all of the dragons were willing to bow to the Dragonborn, and this one started to shout something about revenging Alduin when it came down on us.

Fortunately, this was not the first dragon we encountered, even for the students, and we all looked for cover and jumped out of the way. Nevertheless, the frost path delivered by this particular beast was wider than we were used to, and a couple of us were grazed by it – I heard a few shouts of pain. When the beast turned around, T'mara blew her _'YOL TOOR SHUL'_ directly in its face, and while this stopped the next frost ball, it did not seem to hurt the beast too much. This was a quite strong dragon for sure.

After a few turns and attacks my wife could shout again and used 'Dragonrend', and this brought the beast down to the ground. The students had realized that this dragon was dangerous and all attacked from a distance, some with bows, some other with fireballs, so that they could jump to cover when required. I used my crossbow, using bolts of exploding fire, and soon the dragon was suffering. However, it opened its snout wide and blew an even more intense frost cloud towards Onmund. Although the student was partially behind a rock, most of his body was immediately covered by ice, and Brelyna made sure that at least his face was kept out. Onmund was a Nord, though, and he was going to survive being frozen in ice for a few minutes. The rest of us intensified our attacks; the dragon tried to get up into the air once more, but T'mara shouted 'Dragonrend' once again, and the beast was back down on the ground in seconds. J'zargo got one of his scrolls out and used it, and the beast was almost completely covered in fire for half a minute or so before it succumbed.

While my wife absorbed the soul and I rushed over to Onmund, I heard Glacier saying:

"That was a pretty impressive spell, you little fur ball."

And I also heard J'zargo, who was used to being addressed like that by Glacier and not offended at all, kind of chuckling and his reply:

"This one is going to do even more to impress the young Redguard in future."

I smiled when I heard that and started to thaw Onmund from his ice block. It took me about twenty minutes to get him out, but he confirmed that he was mostly all right, and the few bruises and frost bites he had I was able to heal quickly. He chuckled and told me:

"This is clearly one of the opportunities where I am very happy to be a Nord and thus being able to stand being almost frozen for some time."

Meanwhile I heard Glacier asking T'mara:

"What about this particular dragon? Did it somehow not get the message that Alduin was defeated?"

And my wife replied:

"With Alduin defeated and Paarthurnax taking over as unofficial leader, most dragons seemed to accept that, but not all of them. We were still likely to encounter the occasional one who still feels loyal to Alduin and will attack us. Which is, I believe, a good thing, too."

Glacier looked at her and asked:

"Why would that be good?"

"Because I will need more dragon souls for more words of power!"

Well, she had a point here. And later on, T'mara added, only to me:

"And of course, as you know, those dragon souls always get my hormones into overdrive, and cuddling is even more fulfilling. Get ready for little sleep tonight!"

_[Author's Notes: Glacier's understanding of magic also far surpasses my own, so that I hope I have not overdone it. Please let me know what you think!]_


	64. Chapter 64 - Exploring Labyrinthian

**Chapter 64: Exploring Labyrinthian**

_[15__th__ – 17__th__ of Frostfall 4E 202]_

Finally we could follow the side road and enter the extensive outer Labyrinthian area. T'mara and I had been here before, together with Valdimar, on our way to 'Skyborn Altar', just passing through. This time, we planned to stay and investigate in more detail, but first I warned the others about the trolls known to patrol the area, and I also reminded them of the trolls' astounding self healing capability.

Same as before, we encountered a few of the beasts soon after we had climbed the first set of stairs, but we were able to dispose of them quickly. We looked around, at first not quite sure where to go. A light mist made orientation difficult, and there were so many sets of stairs, walls, and other structures that we did not have a clue what to look for.

Glacier, though, had received some guidance from the Arch-Mage and led us directly towards an entrance she called the 'Ceremonial Door'. When we got closer, we suddenly saw six ghostly shapes materialize next to the door, and they had a brief conversation we were able to listen to:

"_Come on, we are finally here! Let's not waste any more time!" That came from the ghost who looked like a younger version of Savos Aren._

_A female Argonian voice objected: "Are we truly sure that this is such a good idea?"_

_A female Redguard confirmed: "Come on, we will be back at the College before anyone even knows that we were gone."_

_A male Bosmer voice snorted: "You would care about that, since you're the Arch-Mage's favorite!"_

_The younger Arch-Mage again: "Don't forget, this whole idea was Atmah's to begin with."_

_A male Nord's voice was getting impatient: "Let's just get inside, see what's in there."_

The ghosts were gone again, and we looked at each other, not quite sure what we had just seen and heard.

Glacier informed us: "When the Arch-Mage told me about this place, he admitted that he had been here before a long time ago, when he had been a young mage. He was with five other mages, and something went horribly wrong. He also gave me a special key he called the 'Torc of Labyrinthian', which we shall need to open the door."

She got the torc out from her pack, used it on the door, and the door swung open. Our party of six – the four students Glacier, Brelyna, J'zargo and Onmund plus my wife and myself, coincidentally the same number of people as the earlier party – stepped indoors, and our husky Bran followed quickly. We found ourselves in a larger area with lots of skeletons on the ground and a big table in the center. When we approached the table, the six ghosts appeared again, and we could understand again what they were talking about:

"_I can't believe we are doing this." This was Elvali, a female Dunmer sorcerer, who had not talked before._

_Savor Aren smirked: "Yes, but can you imagine the looks on their faces when we come back?"_

_Hafnar, the male Nord, doubted that: "You keep talking like you are sure we will find something useful in here."_

_Girduin, the male Bosmer, whispered: "Given the history of this place, it's more than likely there's still some amount of power here."_

_Savos nodded: "Enchanted weapons, tomes of ancient knowledge, Shalidor's secrets themselves – who knows what we could find!"_

_Takes-In-Light, the Argonian, was not quite so sure: "And what if... What if there are things guarding this place?"_

_Atmah, the bossy Redguard sorceress, dismissed that thought: "Against six College-trained mages? I think we'll be fine."_

The six ghosts were gone again, and I asked around:

"Are we going to have those six ghosts around all of the time in here?"

Glacier shook her head:

"I do not know. I believe even the Arch-Mage did not know that this was going to happen. He told me names and races of this original party, but omitted the part about how they separated and who might still be alive. He also did not elaborate on the dangers we might encounter, although I have some vague inklings."

"Does seeing the Arch-Mage's ghost here imply that he is no longer alive now?" T'mara now asked, looking concerned.

"Not sure about that" I replied. "He and Mirabelle had planned to make another attempt to take Ancano's barrier down with force on the day we left; maybe something went wrong."

Before we proceeded, some of us mentioned that they were getting tired after the long walk, the dragon fight, and all, and we decided that this place was as good as any to get rest and sleep. Fortunately, with Bran and Pammy being with us, we could all sleep and nobody needed to stand guard. T'mara was, after getting another dragon soul during the day, not quite ready for sleep yet, and we barely managed to keep reasonably quiet during our cuddling. Some of the others probably noticed what we were doing, but we were married and very much in love, so what. Nevertheless I made a mental note to find out if an advanced muffle spell also helped to dampen noises created by making love. The standard apprentice spell with that name was not strong enough and lasted only about three minutes, which was by far not enough for my wife and me. Maybe, if I found such a spell, I could enchant our bedroll with it?

After breakfast on the next day, we found that there was only one way forward, through a long winding passage, which eventually opened up into a huge subterranean hall through a portcullis. I conjured Pammy again and had her proceed first, as this smelled like a trap. Nothing happened, so that my wife and I both stepped through as well. Before the others had a chance to follow, though, the gate crashed down and we were separated. A number of skeletons rose from the ground around us, and in the center a dragon rose, but made of bones only. Pammy got busy with the skeletons, and my wife and I attacked the dragon right away. This one was not as dangerous as some of his real cousins had been, and soon we had the room cleared. We found a lever to open the gate, and when we were all together again and had moved on, the ghosts appeared again, but only five of them:

_Elvali trembled and spoke: "We... we have to go back. We can't leave Girduin..."_

_Hafnar objected: "We barely made it out alive, and you want to go back in?"_

_Atmah shook his head: "It's too late. There isn't enough of him left to go back in after."_

_Takes-In-Light was concerned: "Gods, what have we done?"_

_Savos said: "We can't go back. Might as well go forward. We can still do this."_

_Atmah confirmed: "Savos is right. We can make it if we just stay alert."_

When the images were gone again, Brelyna asked:

"Does this imply that they lost one of their group to the Skeletal Dragon?"

"It sure looks like it" I nodded. "Girduin, the male Bosmer, is no longer with them."

"How can me make sure that we will not encounter the same fate?" Onmund asked.

"This is a very good question, Onmund" I told him. "Listen everybody, if the scene is any indication, the place is not going to be a walk in the park. Let's all try to stay together and work as a team, and let us have Pammy scout ahead in dangerous areas, and we might all survive."

All of the students nodded, and we moved on. When we took stairs down to get to the next room, a disembodied voice suddenly boomed:

"Wo meyz wah dii vul junaar? – Who comes to my dark kingdom?"

I felt something very strange, and my magicka reservoir was suddenly drained almost completely. Looking at the others, I could see that this affected everybody, and we knew that we had to be very careful.

A few draugr and magical doors later the same happened again, with the voice saying this time:

"Nivahriin muz fen siiv nid aaz het – Cowardly men will find no mercy here."

Once more our magicka pool got drained.

A few rooms further down the same happened once more, with the voice now complaining:

"You do not answer... must I use this guttural language of yours?"

More draugr later and once we had even encountered some spectral enemies, I saw the need to address the students:

"As you may have noticed, some of the draugr managed to get quite close, and some of them even approached from behind. You see, if you are a mage relying on your magic only, you may still succumb to an enemy stealthily grabbing you from behind and killing you before you have a chance to use your magic."

"But how can you react to something you do not hear?" Onmund asked.

"There are several options. Over time, your awareness of critical situation may improve, so that your sixth sense may warn you. Before you even feel a touch or a weapon from an enemy, you might be able to have your own weapon ready. As a more practical option, if you always walk in pairs and look out for each other, you are less likely to encounter a nasty surprise."

From now on Pammy was leading our party, and we always kept two of us guarding our back together.

Glacier suggested that, whenever the odd voice would boom again and get our magicka drained, we should better stop for a few minutes to get some of it restored at least. It would not do to encounter a dangerous enemy with no magicka at all. We all agreed, and I noticed, not for the first time today, that the young Redguard was showing leadership qualities. Although she was younger and had joined the student group last, J'zargo, Brelyna and Onmund all seemed to be willing to listen to her. She did not talk a lot, but when she said something, it was usually worth paying attention to.

The path lead us down to a small creek, and following it seemed to be the best option. Just before we passed a door to what looked like the next section, the disembodied voice spoke again:

"Have you returned, Aren? My old friend."

Were we mistaken for the Arch-Mage? By now we were used to getting our magicka drained, and as Glacier had suggested earlier, we paused for a few minutes to allow some of it to regenerate at least. Once we continued, we passed and killed some draugr and skeletons, the small stream ended in a pool of water, and the voice spoke again:

"Do you seek to finish that which you could not?"

We stopped again, and Onmund said: "So the Arch-Mage tried to do something here, but did not get to finish it?"

I shrugged my shoulders, and Brelyna replied:

"I guess that we are going to find out."

After finding our way forward and defeating a troll which was guarding the passage, the voice spoke again:

"You will only face failure once more."

J'zargo was getting annoyed and shouted:

"This one is not stopped by a voice. Show yourself!"

Once we had some of our magicka back, we followed the path into a larger room, and in there a number of draugr, skeletons and trolls attacked us almost at once. I was keeping back a little to see the students fight, and I was happy to observed that they actually nicely worked as a team. J'zargo had quickly noticed the pool of oil on the ground and had managed to incinerate it with a fire ball exactly at the right time, so that almost all of the skeletons combusted and most draugr got hurt at least. Not for the first time I wondered how fire could affect and 'kill' a skeleton.

The couple of trolls were tougher, due to their healing capability. However, the students managed to coordinate their attacks, and minutes later the room was clear.

When we proceeded to the back end of the room to check for loot, the voice was heard again:

"You are not Aren, are you? Has he sent you in his place?"

Glacier looked up and said:

"Quite an astute observation. Took you that long to realize that, really?"

Some of us laughed, but she was right, of course.

A few rooms and passages later we found ourselves in a larger room again, with some wisp like creatures floating around at the other end. The wisps did not attack us, though, and we proceeded carefully. However, once we got to a small platform with some coffins on it, the wispmother showed up, and we had to kill it.

An opening in a corner lead us to a door with seemed to be on fire. When we got close, the voice was heard again:

"Did he warn you that your own power would be your undoing? That it would only serve to strengthen me?"

Again we rested for a few minutes, and then we opened the door with a quick frost blast. Glacier had just mentioned that we had not seen the mage ghosts for quite some time, when they appeared again right in front of us.

_Savos said: "Come on, we can't stop now. We have to keep moving!"_

_Atmah asked: "Where's Elvali? She was right behind me."_

_Hafnar remarked: "Dead. Something grabbed her from behind. Gone before I could do anything."_

_Takes-In-Light complained: "This is insanity. We never should have come here."_

_Atmah nodded: "You are right. This is all my fault. Should we turn around, head back?"_

_Hafnar shook his head: "I don't think going back is a good idea."_

_Savos agreed: "Going back would be the end of all of us. We keep pushing forward, and we'll make it. We will!"_

Onmund looked around:

"What do you think happened to Elvali?"

"We do not know for sure," T'mara responded, "but maybe she did not pay attention and was grabbed from behind by a draugr."

A few minutes later the odd voice spoke again:

"Come, face your end."

Glacier commented on that while we waited:

"Maybe that's an indication that we are getting close to the final confrontation now."

A couple of passages later we slowly followed stairs down, and when the first of us, Brelyna this time, entered the next room, she got a full fire blast right on her. Fortunately, with her being a Dunmer, she was partially resistant to fire, and when she had quickly stepped back again, only a little bit of healing was required. She had not seen who or what had attacked her, though, and next T'mara was very carefully looking around the next corner. A fireball blasted close to her, but she had retreated on time, and she reported:

"There are a few soul gem traps further ahead, and they all seem to be placed in a way to face the entrance from this side."

We had seen some of those before, but the one in here seemed to be quite strong ones, and not all of them might be fire traps. We discussed how to proceed best, and my wife knew what to do:

"I have clearly seen that they all face this direction. I will go, use my Whirlwind shout to get to the other side, and disable them from the back."

Before I got a chance to object, she got in position, just out of sight from the traps, and shouted _'WULD'_. I heard at least two traps going off, hopefully behind her, and there was silence for a couple of minutes, before she called out:

"All clear – you can come now!"

Well, she had managed to do what she had planned, and there was not a single singed hair on her body as far as I could tell. I could not resists the temptation to tell her, though:

"That was a little forward to do, wasn't it? I think that tonight, when we are in our bedroll again, I will need to carefully check your body to make sure that you did not get hurt."

She got the direction I was thinking and replied with a smirk:

"Including the parts of my body covered by armor?"

"Oh yes, including those, specifically those covered by your underwear. You never know, maybe one of those traps used a spell to damage your goods..."

T'mara chuckled, and we moved on. In the next larger room we encountered a powerful looking draugr sitting on a throne and sleeping. The odd voice had caused us to lose our magicka again just when entering the room, and as the draugr had not yet noticed us, we waited again. This time, I used my crossbow, and I was able to hit the enemy with a few bolts before it even noticed what was happening. When it finally got close to us, the draugr deathlord was an easy kill. While we were busy to get rid of a few more minor draugr and skeletons, T'mara moved to a corner, and when came back, she told us that she had found another word wall, teaching her the second word of the 'Slow Time' shout.

In the next room, was saw the spectral mage ghosts again.

_Atmah, the female Redguard, spoke first: "We shouldn't have left her there to die!"_

_Savos replied: "What else could we do? Stay there and die with her? She refused to go on, we didn't have a choice!"_

_Hafnar, the male Nord sorcerer, sighed: "This is it, you know. Through this door. Can you feel it?"_

_Atmah was obviously concerned: "We are not going to make it, are we?"_

_Hafnar was firm now: "We stay together, no matter what. Agreed?"_

_Atmah said: "I will be right with you."_

_Savos also nodded: "Agreed. We all stay together."_

So there were only three of them left now. When the ghosts had disappeared again, Brelyna asked:

"What happened to Takes-In Light?"

"Well" I replied, "apparently she got injured and insisted that the other got ahead without her. Maybe the draugr deathlord got her."

"Maybe one of the skeletons we just encountered was her?" Onmund speculated.

Scary thought. We proceeded cautiously, and once we had opened a double iron door, we realized that we were indeed very close to our objective now. On a platform on the other side of the cavern a person or something was completely surrounded by some kind of energy shield, and that person held a staff. The energy shield was maintained by two ghostly mages standing on small covered platforms, and the mages looked similar to the spectral ghosts we had seen multiple times.

"I wonder" Glacier said slowly "if those two mages supporting the energy cloak are the ones who were with Savos last, Atmah and Hafnar."

"You think so?" I asked her, surprised about her suspicion.

"Yes I do" she responded. "But anyway, we probably cannot attack him without getting rid of the energy shield first."

"I am afraid that you are right" my wife nodded. "We probably need to get rid of the two mages first."

Brelyna appeared shocked:

"We have to kill them?"

"Brelyna," I told her, "they are already dead. What we see are only their spectral images! Of course, how spectral images can keep up and maintain an energy shield, I do not know at all."

The Dunmer nodded; she had understood.

"Right," I said, "we need to be careful. I assume that the shielded person, maybe the one who had spoken to us a few times, may awake and attack us as soon as the shield is gone. Any suggestion on how to handle that?"

J'zargo offered to use some ff his fire scrolls, Onmund thought that we should retreat quickly into the passage once we had disposed of the mage ghosts, but Glacier suggested this:

"Look, the bad guy is on a separate platform. If we sneak attack the two mages and quickly retreat behind cover, he may not notice us right away. We can sneak attack with bows and maybe fireballs and such, and if we change our positions carefully a few times and attack from different directions, we should be able to whittle down his defenses somewhat. Once he found us, T'mara can use one her Shouts on him and we continue sending arrows and bolts."

I looked at her and smiled:

"Glacier, this seems to be a very good approach. Let's do that, and please keep in mind that the guy may be resistant to some magic."

We positioned ourselves carefully, with everybody being behind some cover, and T'mara and I simultaneously 'killed' the two mage ghosts. The energy shield was gone, and we could see now that our enemy was a Dragon Priest, and he started moving, shouting:

"Who came to confront Morokei, the Mighty?"

When my wife and I had also retreated behind cover and saw that the Dragon Priest had not yet noticed one of us, we started to send bolts and arrows from different directions. This worked as intended, and Morokei could not decide where to go. When he finally moved in our direction and came close to T'mara, she shouted '_FUS RO DAH_' right in his face, and he got blasted against a wall. While his ward was down and he tried to recover, all six of us gave him everything was had, and he was clearly injured now. However, he was not defeated yet. He managed to conjure a storm atronach, so that we had to split our forces. His pool of magicka seemed to be almost endless, as he sent strong shock attack spells our way now in quick sequence. Onmund failed to evade one of those and was out of the fight for now. However, now Pammy got involved and attacked Morokei from behind, forcing him to turn around. While he still had a ward up protecting him from magic attacks, I suspected that I might able to achieve something with a blade, and just when the Dragon Priest got rid of my familiar and had 'killed' her, I was right behind him and pushed my greatsword right through his chest. His ward dropped, and T'mara and J'zargo followed up by blasting fire and frost into him. The spells showed almost not effect; probably the guy was indeed mostly resistant to magic, but he clearly suffered from the sword in his chest. I decided not to wait, pulled the sword out again and jumped behind a pillar, right in time to avoid another shock blast from him.

His attacks were slowing down now, though, and another concentrated attack with arrows finally made him stop his attacks. Glacier was able to sneak behind him, and with a big axe she had obviously found somewhere and which looked too big and heavy for her to handle she cut Morokei's head off with a big swing, dropping the heavy axe afterwards.

I guess that my jaw was hanging down when I observed that, and once she had made sure that the Dragon Priest was really dead, Glacier told me:

"You did not think that I had that in me, right?"

"Indeed, I did not" I admitted.

"You see," she explained, "I have come to realize that I need to strengthen my fighting skills in parallel to my magical ones, and I have trained over the last few months. Fighting a Dragon Priest who is mostly resistant to all kinds of magic kind of proved the validity of that approach, didn't it?"

Well, there was nothing to add, and I just nodded. For a few times before, when I had been on field trips with the students, I had recommended training fighting in parallel with magic, and I was glad to see that Glacier had actually listened, and I was quite proud of her.

Once we had rested and healed our minor injuries – Onmund still needed some more time to recover from the strong shock blast he had received – we checked the room for loot, and of course the major item was the staff Morokei had wielded; obviously that was the 'Staff of Magnus' Glacier had been looking for.

At this time we realized that we were quite exhausted after all of the fighting, and we decided to call it a day right here. T'mara prepared supper for us, and soon we retired to our bedrolls, with a reconjured Pammy guarding us. I had placed our bedroll at some distance to the others, and I had not forgotten about my intention to check all parts of my love's body as I had promised to do, causing some giggling and later on moaning and purring when I got to the parts normally covered by underwear.

After breakfast on the next day we looked for a way out. None of us was inclined to retrace the way we had come in on the day before, but we did not have to, as we found a door leading forward, hopefully providing a quick way out as most Nordic ruins did. When we had passed the door, we saw a single spectral ghost again, Savos, and he said:

"_...I am so sorry, friends. I am so sorry! I had no choice! It was the only way to make sure that monster never escaped! I promise you, I'll never let this happen again! I'll seal this whole place away..."_

We all looked at each other, and Brelyna said:

"So the Arch-Mage really sacrificed his two friends to keep Morokei locked up?

I nodded:

"It looks like that, indeed. Of course, at that time he was not Arch-Mage yet."

Brelyna shuddered:

"I will not be able to look at him again without thinking of that!"

T'mara replied:

"Maybe you won't have to. If seeing his spectral ghost here is any indication, he may have perished by now, probably in an attempt to stop whatever Ancano is doing."

"We will find out when we're back in Winterhold" Glacier suggested. "Come on, let's move on!"

I suspected that she might know more than she explained, but that was all right, and I was used to that by now.

In the next room, suddenly a Thalmor mage appeared, and he addressed Glacier, who had the Staff of Magnus in her hands:

"So, you made it out of there alive. It appears that Ancano was right... you are dangerous. I'm afraid I'll have to take that Staff from you now. Ancano wants it kept safe... oh, and he wants you dead. Nothing personal."

Glacier tried to be polite at first:

"May I kindly suggest to get out of my way. I have no quarrel with you."

However, the Thalmor said:

"But I am afraid that you do."

Of course the guy was foolish to assume that he could grab the staff by force, with him being alone against six of us, and when I noticed that he was charging a powerful spell in his hands, I ran him through with my greatsword before he could react.

Passing him, we found a ladder and soon found ourselves outside of the ruin again. I told Glacier:

"Look, T'mara and I may not have enough time to return to Winterhold with you and still get to Solitude in time. Do you think that you and the three others students can make it on your own?"

While she pondered that, J'zargo stepped forward and declared:

"The young Redguard has proven herself multiple times, and this one will protect her. We will manage."

Brelyna and Onmund also nodded, and once we had reached the main road again, we separated. The four students moved east, towards Winterhold, and my wife and I took the road to the west, towards Solitude.

_[Author's Notes: What will happen at the College of Winterhold now? Our two heroes may not learn about that for some time...]_


	65. Chapter 65 - Kyne's peace

**Chapter 65: Kyne's peace**

_[17__th__ – 19__th__ of Frostfall 4E 202]_

While my wife and I followed the main road past Morthal, T'mara asked:

"Do you really think that the Arch-Mage is dead by now?"

I scratched my head and replied:

"I do not know, but I assume that a person cannot easily appear as a ghost while still being alive. I guess that we will find out next time we are in Winterhold."

A few minutes later I continued my thoughts:

"However, even if he still is alive, I have to admit that I will never able able to look at him again the same way. He used to be almost like a friend to me, but I think that it was not right that he and the other mages explored Labyrinthian just looking for riches and artifacts, and they really should have been more careful in looking out for each other."

My wife replied:

"I fully agree, but everybody makes a mistake from time to time; maybe he was just misguided at that time. Isn't it likely that he at least regretted that later on?"

"Also true, my love" I responded and nodded.

We continued to walk in silence for some time, and just before we reached the bridge across the Hjal river, T'mara suddenly stopped and stood like frozen for a few minutes. I started to get concerned, but eventually she moved again and said:

"I think that I have just had a vision, from Kynareth. There's one of her shrines not far south from here, and that's how she is able to contact me. She told me that she liked what we are doing, and she asks if we could do her a favor. There's a shipwreck on the coast, the 'Wreck of the Brinehammer'. For some reason, there is a 'Shrine of Kynareth' in it, and it had been properly maintained by the ship's crew. However, the crew got murdered by bandits when the ship stranded, and the bandits seem to mock the altar and make fun of Kynareth. She asks me, or rather us, to punish the bandits by killing them, but not before telling them that we are doing this for her, Kynareth, deity of the heavens, the winds, the elements, and the unseen spirits of the air."

I looked at my wife and asked:

"Do we know where this wreck is located?"

She nodded, had me get our map out, and replied:

"Kynareth marked it on our map. Look, it's right here, north of Morthal."

I checked the location and nodded:

"I think that we have time enough to do this before we need to be in Solitude. Off we go, all right?"

She looked at me happily, and we turned into a new direction. We left the road and traveled cross country in northern direction, first through snow and between a few trees, and later on passing the swamps north of Morthal. Traveling here was less dangerous than it used to be before we had eliminated the master vampire Morvarth, and we only encountered the occasional frostbite spider and mudcrab.

While we walked, I asked my wife about what she knew about Kynareth:

"As you are willing to engage for her so quickly, may I assume that you have heard about Kynareth before?"

She nodded and responded: "Indeed, I have. While my parents neglected some parts of my education, I was at least told about our gods and lore. The Khajiit call her 'Khenarthi, the Winds', and when she was feeling lonely in the sky, she was give the moons as siblings. It is said in Elsweyr that most of the ancient sounds were gifted to the world by Khenarthi. There is even an island off the coast of Elsweyr named after her – 'Khenarthi's Roost'."

"So, you have a good feeling about her?"

T'mara nodded again: "Yes, I have, and I am very happy that we can do something for her."

Noon was still ahead of us, and we made good time, walking briskly, until we stopped for lunch at the entrance to Ustengrav. What used to be a small bandit camp around the entrance had not been reclaimed by anybody since we had been here when we had searched for the 'Horn of Jurgen Windcaller', so that we could rest without having to fight first.

From there, we stayed close to the coast, and we reached the vicinity of the wreck in late afternoon.

"I guess" I asked my wife "that we can safely assume that the occupants at and around the wreck are all bandits, right?"

"Yes," she nodded, "this is what I have been told by Kynareth."

Getting closer and sneaking, we saw a group of bandits around a campfire, apparently getting ready for dinner. We attacked with bolts and arrows from a distance, careful to wound them only for now. The enraged bandits got up to face us, and each one we killed was clearly told by my wife that we were acting on behalf of Kynareth and that this was their punishment for making fun of her and her shrine.

Once this was done, we sat down at the fire, had Pammy and Bran watch out, and deliberately made some noise helping ourselves to the delicious meal the bandits had prepared. While we were eating, another bandit emerged from the wreck and was about to join us, calling out:

"Hey, why didn't you come in and tell us that dinner is ready? That's not fair!"

The guy came closer and realized too late that it was not his friends sitting at the fire; he encountered the same destiny as they had.

One by one the other bandits came out, wondering about dinner, and they all got killed once T'mara had told them that we were upholding Kynareth՚s rule. Once we had eaten, with some interruptions of course, we got into the wreck to check if we had missed somebody. Deep inside the wreck, on the second lower level, there was a nicely decorated room, and in there was Kynareth՚s shrine, being misused as a clothes hanger, and what appeared to be the bandit boss. He was eating at his own table by himself, and he had his back towards us.

My wife and I looked at each other, and I started:

"Face the punishment now for defiling Kynareth and her shrine!"

He was a little slow in reacting, and when he finally got up, some food partially hanging out of his mouth, T'mara shouted '_FUS RO DAH'_, so that the bandit was thrown against the wall. When he got up again, I gave him a choice:

"Prepare to die, unless you are ready to repent for your sins!"

He looked at me oddly and then shouted:

"Men! Come in and help me!"

Obviously he did not know and not expect that all of his men were dead already, and he grinned madly. Okay, he had made his choice, and before he was able to react, I ran my greatsword though his chest. He suffered for a few minutes before he died, and while I did not normally enjoy something like that, I believed that Kynareth wanted it like this.

Once we had cleaned the shrine, there was Kynareth՚s voice in the air, for both of us to hear:

"Thank you for cleaning my shrine and killing the defilers. That has bothered me a lot, and now I can rest again. Please take some reward from me!"

A ring came down from nowhere, and I somehow knew that it was supposed to be mine. Kynareth՚s voice in my head told me that it was the 'Ring of the Wind', and that it would allow me to move more quickly when I wore it.

When I looked at my wife, she looked like in a dream, and a few minutes later she told with quite some excitement in her voice:

"Guess what – Kynareth taught me all three words of a new Shout – Kyne՚s peace. When I use it, animals around me will not attack – isn't that great?"

I smiled back at her and agreed:

"Yes, this is certainly nice. Let's find out soon how it works soon."

When we continued to search the ship for loot and other stuff, we suddenly heard some whimpering behind one of the wooden walls. After searching for an opening, we were able to lift a few boards, and we looked directly into the eyes of a small girl. She yelped when she noticed that we had found her, so that we first stepped back in order to not scare her. Eventually she noticed that we were not going to attack, and she looked at us with her big eyes:

"Please, do not hurt me!"

T'mara tried to soothe her:

"Don't be afraid; it is not our business to fight children. We have just taken care of the bandits here."

"You have? Really?"

Slowly she came out of he hiding spot, and we saw a timid looking girl, about nine or ten years old by my guess. She looked skinny and exhausted, and her clothes were not much more than rags. The girl looked around and saw the bandit chief slain in a pool of blood, and she shuddered.

"Shall we get you outside?" I suggested.

The girl nodded, and we led her outside to the still glowing campfire. There was still a lot left to eat, and we could see the poor girl drooling when she saw the food, so that my wife asked:

"Are you hungry? Would you like to eat something?"

The young girl nodded, and T'mara served her. The young lass seemed to be starved, and for some time there were only eating noises. Eventually the girl told us about herself:

"My name is Yumi. I traveled on this ship here together with my aunt and uncle to visit Skyrim, but the captain got drunk, and when the ship stranded, we were soon attacked by bandits. I think that all crew and passengers were killed, but I managed to hide, and sometimes I could steal some food, but not quite enough. I was afraid that the bandits would kill me, too, if they found me, and I had nowhere to go."

"Do you have any family left?"

"No, my parents and sister died some time ago, and my aunt and uncle had adopted me. They were the last relatives I had, and I do not know what to do now."

I looked at T'mara, and I was sure that she was having the same thoughts I was having. We were planing to find a brother or sister for Lucia sooner or later, and Yumi seemed to be almost the same age. Maybe we could adopt her?

For now I suggested:

"Once you have eaten, let's sleep, and see what to do tomorrow. For now at least, you are with us, and you are welcome to join us on our way to Solitude. By the way, this big husky dog here is Bran. He is a fierce fighter and also protects us when we sleep, together with Pammy."

"Who is Pammy?"

I summoned my familiar, and Yumi was impressed. While she kept a respectful distance from Pammy, she allowed Bran to get close to her, and ten minutes later we found her sleeping with her head resting on the husky's chest.

After enjoying breakfast on the next day, together with Yumi who had slept quite well, we started to move again, heading towards Solitude. Just a few minutes after he had left the wreck a huge snow bear approached us. Yumi looked scared, and normally we would have either attacked or gone out of its way, but today, of course, T'mara wanted to see how her new shout worked:

'_KAAN DREM OV!'_

The bear looked at us and sat down on the snow. My wife slowly approached, and when the animal indeed showed no sign of hostility, started to pet its fur. The bear started to hum and looked like it enjoyed the attention, and Yumi stared at the situation in awe. My wife continued petting and stroking it for maybe a quarter of an hour, when the beast started to show signs of uneasiness. We quickly retreated into a safe distance, seeing that the shout effect was wearing off now, but fortunately gradually rather than abruptly.

"This is so great!" T'mara smiled at me. "I so love petting animals!"

"Well, I agree, and so do I," I told her, "and fortunately I have my personal petting animal right next to me!"

Before she really got my meaning I grabbed her and cuddled her, until she squealed. Yumi looked at us with tilted head, but she seemed to like our affection. Later on she mentioned that her parents had also been cuddling a lot and that she missed seeing that.

We had enough time left to get to Solitude so that we did not have to hurry, which was good, as we had Yumi with us, and we decided to stroll along the coast. A cold wind was blowing from the sea, but it did not bother us much. For Yumi, we had found some warm garbs in the ship, and although the clothes were several sizes too large, they kept her warm at least. Along the way we collected some ingredients, like grass pod, slaughterfish eggs, a few clams, and the occasional nirnroot. For most of the day, we enjoyed the scenery and took our time, also for Yumi՚s benefit.. T'mara got a chance to also use her new Shout on a group of horkers, but told me soon that bears were more cuddly than horkers.

Close to the end of the day we approached the area around the wreck of the 'Icerunner'. We had already been here before when bandits had extinguished the fire in the Solitude lighthouse, hoping to lure more ships into crashing here. Another group of bandits had now made themselves a home here, as we saw from a distance. Well, at least we assumed them to be bandits, but they could also be harmless travelers and adventurers, so that we approached peacefully. And indeed, we were greeted in a friendly manner and invited for dinner. The group of five men and two women had a big piece of horker roasting, more than plenty for all of us, and they told us that they were mercenaries looking for work, pausing here for a few days. We had no reason not to believe that, but I found it odd that they had what looked to be very high quality utensils and kitchenware.

When the sun was down, T'mara and I were invited to take a room in the shipwreck, but we preferred to sleep outside and found ourselves a nice spot for our bedroll, with Yumi next to us in her own bedroll and Bran next to her, and soon we were asleep.

In the middle of the night I woke up from T'mara stirring next to me, and the reason appeared to be Pammy and Bran making noise. Bran barked and Pammy growled; we knew this to be a sign of danger and got up quickly, and I heard a voice saying:

"What is this? I thought this to be an easy kill, but they have a dog and this other animal around. Kill them all, now!"

I had some trouble recognizing much as it was fully dark; none of the moons were out and only few of the stars glimmered. T'mara, though, had a clear advantage with her Khajiit eyes, and she used it. While Bran stayed with Yumi to protect her and Pammy slowed down the attackers, my wife approached some of them from the side and landed hits. I stepped away from our bedroll to gain some distance, and then I cast a few magelight spells and send the lights in various directions. Some of them were mere distractions, but a few of them highlighted enemy positions, and for a few moments I had enough light to see where to aim my crossbow; this allowed me to kill or at least severely injure three of the enemies. Edric had been conjured by now as well, and he soon helped by attacking from the air.

About one quarter of an hour later none of the attackers were alive any longer, and we had time to ponder the situation.

"Well, it appears that they were bandits after all." I said.

"So it appears" my wife confirmed. "I am real glad that we had Bran and Pammy guarding and warning us."

"Yes, they probably expected it to be easy to kill us in our sleep."

After we calmed down, we managed to get back to sleep for a few more hours before dawn came. We enjoyed a nice breakfast from the plenty of food the bandits had had, and once more I wondered about the utensils, and I asked my wife:

"T'mara, have you noticed the quality of the kitchenware and utensils? The pots and pans and other stuff here seems to be very high quality, and I wonder where they got that from."

"Well, they probably stole all of that. When we're back in Solitude, we can ask people about it."

"All right, let's do that. As a matter of fact, we could ask Bendt, the chef at the Bards College. He's got a nice collection of utensils himself, and he might know who the real owner is."

Starting from the wreck, the distance to Solitude was not much, and we happily marched on. At first we followed the coastline, and when we stepped on an island via some ice floats, I noticed a wooden shack I thought I had seen before. To get a closer look I changed directions, and T'mara got curious:

"Where are you going now? Isn't Solitude west rather than south?"

"Yes, it is, but look at this shack over there. I have been here before!"

"When was that?"

"Do you recall when I was abducted by Astrid, the leader of the Dark Brotherhood? It was here in this shack when I was confronted with her request to make me kill at least one of the three captives."

"But how did she manage to get from the Rift to here that quickly?

"I do not have a clue. Maybe some special Dark Brotherhood magic."

We had a quick look inside, but it appeared that the shack had been abandoned since Astrid and I had been here with the three poor captives, and thus we left again and continued our walk towards Solitude.

A few frostbite spiders and mudcrabs later we could see the eastern part of the big Solitude arch right in front of us, and Yumi looked at that in awe. Right when we were about to enter the narrow walkway leading up to the city, a dragon appeared in the sky and swooped down top attack. On a hunch, T'mara shouted her new '_KAAN DREM OV!'_ on the beast, and it actually interrupted the attack. The dragon settled down in front of us and asked:

"Your try to calm me down rather than fighting? This is remarkable. I will have you know, though, that I am not affected by this."

My wife called back: "Are you aware of the fact that Alduin was defeated and that there is now peace between dragons and mankind?"

"I have heard those lies" the beast responded, "and I do not believe them. Alduin is eternal and cannot be defeated!"

"But yet it happened. The majority of the dragons are now loyal to me, the Dragonborn, and to Paarthurnax. Why don't you ask some of your brethren further south to confirm that? Of course, if you prefer to fight me, I will be happy to oblige – I have already defeated more than a dozen dragons, and I can always use another soul."

The dragon seemed to be unsure now, and eventually it decided to find out if that was indeed true. It rose again and flew southeast, maybe towards the Throat of the World.

Yumi looked at my wife: "You have really killed more than a dozen of dragons?"

T'mara nodded: "I have, yes, but not alone – my husband helped with almost all of them, and for most we had others with us, too. You know, I am what they call a 'Dragonborn' around here."

Apparently this did not ring a bell, but according to what Yumi had told us, she came from a place very far from here, and she probably was not familiar with Skyrim lore.

A number of guards had been close, preparing themselves for a tough fight, and they cheered now. T'mara told them:

"We were able to make this dragon think, I guess. But while most of them are now loyal and will not attack mankind an our settlements any longer, there are always a few stray ones we need to be wary of."

We took our leave from them and climbed the stairs to enter the city of Solitude. As the sun was still up, we decided to check at the Bards College first. We found Bendt, the Chef, in the kitchen in the basement, preparing the next meal. However, as it was not dinner time yet, he muttered without looking when he heard us approach:

"Meals are served to Bards at designated times. Find an inn if you want to make requests."

I cleared my throat and replied:

"Bendt, we are not here to eat, but we need to ask something, please."

"Come over some other time; I am busy."

I happened to know that he always claimed to be busy, so that I tried another approach:

"We do need your expertise on something, and you may be the best qualified person to properly assess the situation and the trade merchandise."

This got his attention and he turned around, finally noticing who I was:

"Oh, it's you, Timotheus. Well, all right, the next meal can wait a bit, so what is it?"

I started to lay down the utensils and kitchenware we had found at the wreck of the Icerunner on an unused table, and the cook's eyes became quite big:

"Where did you get those?"

"We found them with bandits who were around the wreck of the Icerunner."

"Can you believe that those are mine? A few weeks ago we had a break in here at the college, and I found my highest quality kitchenware gone. And here it is again!"

It looked like he had tears in his eyes and was unable to speak further for a few moments. We gave him time to clam down, and eventually he said:

"I can't even say how grateful I am to get those utensils returned. They have been in our family for generations, and I had mourned their loss. To have them back now… How can I reward you for your service?"

"Bendt, there is no need for a reward. Just, as we came back and have only now arrived in the city, we're looking forward to a good dinner. We plan to sit down with the other bards tonight, and we would not mind at all to get a few of your specialties served later on."

"Well, that's the very least I can do – you can bet on it!"

When we had refreshed ourselves in our Solitude home and changed into comfortable clothes, we also found proper clothes for Yumi. Jordis had stayed here in Solitude since our last visit, and she volunteered to take care of Yumi right away. Thus, my wife and I could now join the bards at the college for dinner as promised, and while all kind of stories and tales were exchanged, Bendt served one of his excellent meals to all of us.

The entire dinner, with bards' tales and songs being presented between the courses, took several hours, and at the end of the day T'mara had to admit that she had rarely eaten that well. When we eventually got back to our home here in the city, Jordis told us that Yumi was already asleep in one of the guest rooms. We had a quick peek in her room and then also retired.

_[Author's Notes: A girl named 'Yumi' is available in the game via a mod. She looks quite cute IMO – my kudos to the mod owner, 'comicalmuse' – and I sometimes adopt her when I play the game. The mod makes her available in Honorhall Orphanage in Riften, but for my story I added a different background.]_


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